Media and Manliness

[Raregolddragon]

I am 5'5 and only 130 lbs. But go ahead anger me see what hellish revenge I work up in my head to cast on your head.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

It takes more of a man to fight conventions and make your own that to be a man who blindly follows conventions.

Your post was very nice, but I (for whatever reason) mentally followed it up with "ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH." Which... actually accentuated it quite nicely.

Humorously enough
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/270644_2202684828075_1275964433_2712950_7379784_n.jpg
That is a picture of me.

Well, I feel rather justified now. And that is an awesome cosplay.

 

[Dags90]

If you pay attention, a whole shitton of ads that include a married couple often have the women telling the man everything and the man going "oh, oops, duh." like he's an idiot.

If you pay extra attention, most of those ads are aimed at women and reinforce gender roles. It doesn't matter if you work full time, you can't ask your husband to clean the house or cook dinner. He'll just fuck it up because men can't clean or cook. So buy this product, it'll make your second job as a homekeeper go a little bit easier.

In this vein, advertisers are just trying to foster insecurities so they can then "fix" you with their products.

Feminists know what's up:

 

[Hatter]

My Image of manliness leans more towards "The most interesting man in the world" sort of thing.

Stoic, Suave, well mannered, ripped, rough, courtly, chivalrous, intelligent etc. etc. And that's what I strive for.

I get kind of annoyed when someone says that "People try to live up to unrealistic standards", to me, whoever says that is just looking for an excuse to remain mediocre. The way I see it, you should always try to be the most perfect you that you can become, physically and mentally.

 

[Kryzantine]

Since I am a woman, I can't really comprehend social stigmas toward men as well as an actual man can. Still, I cannot help but feel irritated towards many media aimed at men nowadays, mainly in video games and commercials.

There is certainly nothing wrong with being manly nor is there anything wrong with being unmanly, but it seems that both traits are being treated with complete and utter contempt. If you're manly, then that generally means you are nothing but a muscle bound jock who is a jerk and lives to ridiculous standards. If you're not manly, then that means you are a weakling who deserves ridicule and abuse for being feminine.

See Miller Light/Slim Jim/General Men Bathing Products ads and you'll see what I mean.

So tell me people, what do you think about standards and stigmas of manliness/un-manliness?

Desire for perfection?

I think there are such stigmas in place, naturally because we want "unmanly men" to become more manly and hit the gym, and we want "manly men" to hit the books instead. Get men to balance themselves out. Of course, I don't like it either way.

 

[FalloutJack]

Since I am a woman, I can't really comprehend social stigmas toward men as well as an actual man can. Still, I cannot help but feel irritated towards many media aimed at men nowadays, mainly in video games and commercials.

There is certainly nothing wrong with being manly nor is there anything wrong with being unmanly, but it seems that both traits are being treated with complete and utter contempt. If you're manly, then that generally means you are nothing but a muscle bound jock who is a jerk and lives to ridiculous standards. If you're not manly, then that means you are a weakling who deserves ridicule and abuse for being feminine.

See Miller Light/Slim Jim/General Men Bathing Products ads and you'll see what I mean.

So tell me people, what do you think about standards and stigmas of manliness/un-manliness?

Manliness is in the eye of the beholder. For instance, I am a confident male with high self-esteem and so on, but my values WILL differ from others. For instance, I don't drink Miller Light, eat Slim Jims, and my choice of bathing products is based on what WORKS, not what's 'manly' in the first place.

Just an example, mind you. To be manly is not to be the most muscular and whatnot, though. I mean, the people who embody your example aren't manly. They're idiots. I am manly. I am average in strength and I just don't care. My life is awesome and it'll take more than a stereotype to bring that down.