How do men (and women) define masculinity?

From another thread.....

Go for it, dudes and dudettes, but play nice.

Main Entry: 1mas·cu·line
Pronunciation: 'mas-ky&-l&n
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English masculin, from Middle French, from Latin masculinus, from masculus, noun, male, diminutive of mas male
Date: 14th century

1 a : MALE b : having qualities appropriate to or usually associated with a man
2 : of, relating to, or constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to males
3 a : having or occurring in a stressed final syllable <masculine rhyme> b : having the final chord occurring on a strong beat <masculine cadence>
4 : of or forming the formal, active, or generative principle of the cosmos

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

What more is there to say?

Cat

don't beat on my chest with my fists and growel like a gorilla to define mine.

*

Just when you think you've seen it all...... Thanks for the link!

At least now I've got a suggestion for the next f***wit who insists that I'm too afraid to get my ear pierced.....

:shrug:

and definitely no sandals with socks!!!

With the disclaimer that I haven't really thought about it (well, that's about typical of all of my posts, really) and will probably disagree with myself ten minutes from now (ha! and they say that's a feminine trait....), I'll give this a try.

The dictionary definition's pretty hard to argue with, I'll grant, but there's gotta be at least something more. I have a feeling, though, that there may be as many characterizations of what it is to be male as there are males. Actually, there are probably far more chracterizations than actual males because women may have a totally different view than each of we dudes. Nevertheless.....

I'd think that the ideal of masculinity is very much a yin-yang construct: hard, yet soft (a hard man's good to find, they say, but if he lacks a soft side....I wouldn't be too sure how good that would be); firm yet yielding; strong yet sensitive; intelligent yet able to revert to the primal when appropriate; able to defend those he loves but not suffocating; respectful of and both unafraid of and, when appropriate, deferential toward women - treating them as equals - yet not a wimp; tasteful yet tasteless; and filled with rhythm yet often embarrassing to witness while dancing. Et cetera....

In practice, as is so often the case with many human traits, masculinity can be far from this ideal - it can be ugly and destructive, with no redeeming value at all. Not that the same cannot be said of femininity, but certain flavors of aggression have traditionally been more within the male's purview and we've typically had greater access to the tools of war and enslavement.






I already don't agree with myself, so let's add this: thoughtful, and appropriately forceful in applying the results of that thought, but able to remain flexible in thought and deed.

I'm not sure if I can answer the femininity thread because - apart from obvious celebrate-la-difference statements that would probably result in my face being deservedly slapped - I think that the ideals I've listed above are primarily human ones.

*sniffsniff*

I don't know about that. I obviously need to get out and sniff more.

:D is my honest answer. there are so many stereotypes that come to mind, but i honestly can't come up with any definitions that aren't stereotypical :shrug:
so...i think all beings are both masculine and feminine. as to how we express masculine/feminine qualities...that depends of social/cultural/famial circumstances. it's hard to tell what's cultural...and what isn't...as sojourner truth once noted.

Oh, wait, that's how Bush* defines masculinity...

:evilgrin: