The Masculinity Project looks at the American Black Male Character.
It's worth checking this site out.
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Saturday, 10 January 2009
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
How real men (and probably most men) would like their women to be...
The Perfect Woman for the Real Man
What cars do Real Men drive?
Well, I'm poised at the moment to buy a new car, and I want a sports car. Something that's fun to drive, isn't too expensive, and is reliable. And a convertible. I've been driving a Chrysler LeBaron for a while, and I was seriously thinking about a Ford Mustang.
Then someone showed me a picture of a Miata for sale. And my first thought was "girl's car" or "Gay car". But then I looked at the reviews. It's won the "best car" top spot for ten years running, and is considered to be the best selling sports car, ever!
Miatas sell like hotcakes, and they keep their price, because they're damned good cars and people love them.
I mentioned to a friend I was thinking of getting one. "Chick's car", he said. But why is it? Why should anyone think that? Because women have the brains to know a good car when they see one? Is it some propaganda put out by Ford or the muscle car people (or the oil companies) that we should buy gas guzzling monsters?
I know a woman of 40 who just bought a new Mustang GT. Five liter, V8 with incredible torque, black, burns rubber like you wouldn't believe. So is she a lesbian, or weird, for having bought such a "guy's" car? Is she more of a guy than any guy with anything less than that car?
Of course not. The car you drive doesn't define you. And the way I look at it, if you have such an issue with image that you really need to show that you're a man by the car you drive, you very likely are the one with the issues about your gender or sexuality.
So I'm almost certainly going to buy the Miata.
And yes, I'm likely to get some flak from people who have bought into the image thing. I think what I'll do is get some shots of gay men and straight women driving Mustangs and trucks. In fact, I know a gay man who drives a Mustang as it is.
Imagine: not having a car that you'd really enjoy just because what other people thought. Other people who have bought into the marketing nonsense that you didn't...
Then someone showed me a picture of a Miata for sale. And my first thought was "girl's car" or "Gay car". But then I looked at the reviews. It's won the "best car" top spot for ten years running, and is considered to be the best selling sports car, ever!
Miatas sell like hotcakes, and they keep their price, because they're damned good cars and people love them.
I mentioned to a friend I was thinking of getting one. "Chick's car", he said. But why is it? Why should anyone think that? Because women have the brains to know a good car when they see one? Is it some propaganda put out by Ford or the muscle car people (or the oil companies) that we should buy gas guzzling monsters?
I know a woman of 40 who just bought a new Mustang GT. Five liter, V8 with incredible torque, black, burns rubber like you wouldn't believe. So is she a lesbian, or weird, for having bought such a "guy's" car? Is she more of a guy than any guy with anything less than that car?
Of course not. The car you drive doesn't define you. And the way I look at it, if you have such an issue with image that you really need to show that you're a man by the car you drive, you very likely are the one with the issues about your gender or sexuality.
So I'm almost certainly going to buy the Miata.
And yes, I'm likely to get some flak from people who have bought into the image thing. I think what I'll do is get some shots of gay men and straight women driving Mustangs and trucks. In fact, I know a gay man who drives a Mustang as it is.
Imagine: not having a car that you'd really enjoy just because what other people thought. Other people who have bought into the marketing nonsense that you didn't...
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
The "Real Fight Club" (No rules fighting)
There's something to be said about fighting. It's barbaric, yes, but we are animals and animals fight. All animals fight - even deers fight, and we have the idea that deer are gentle animals that run away when startled. Truth is, two deer will fight really hard over a mate or territory.
Isn't that just what men do, too?
There is something glorious to be said about sticking so to your integrity that you'll fight tooth and nail for it. Even if we don't fight physically, to put everything we have into fighting for something we think is right is important for our sense of self. When we fight to defend our beliefs, loved ones or freedom, we do something important for ourselves.
Tied up with fighting is respect and self respect, even if it does mean a bloodied nose or broken bones - or loss of pride or material goods or wealth.
We become bitter and hateful not when we lose, but when we fail to fight for something, I think. True hatred comes from cowardice, not from courage.
So in some way I'm drawn to the idea of fight club, or fighting - even though I've generally been a fairly passive and peaceful individual.
But the rare times I've fought, or been prepared to fight, I've found a sense of self worth and strength, and a sense of power and self esteem that I think are invaluable.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Friday, 11 July 2008
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Robert Heinlein on being a man
" A man being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects."
Specialization is for insects."
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