#1
Some kid was standing with his friends and they were giving him grief because he was drinking a cherry beer. Culturally, fruity beers are considered 'girly' drinks here. One of the s****y friends turns to me and asks me to confirm to his friend that real men drink normal beer. I'm a muscular, bearded, masculine looking guy, so the shithead probably thought I would be on his side. I just replied 'a real man drinks whatever the f**k he likes' and lifted my beer to the guy with the cherry beer.
I could actually see his eyes light up and his body energize a little bit after that. Poor kid just wanted to enjoy his drink in peace.
#2
#3
Liking women is, apparently, gay.
If you've spent some time online, it’s likely you have encountered men genuinely using terms like alpha, sigma, and whatever else they come up with in this area.
Or maybe you've even encountered such people in real life – those with very strong opinions about what a “real man” should look like. And these people tend to like expressing such opinions, no matter how crazy they actually are.
Today’s list is a collection of various bizarre statements of the “real men don’t do” mentality netizens have heard throughout their lives and decided to share in an online thread under a question: "What's the craziest thing you've heard that 'real men' don't do?” Here you’ll find a whole spectrum of things, from reading books to liking cats.
#4
Sure sure sure sounds good my guy.
#5
From a woman at work, after I brought in some cakes I made. ( F**k her, they tasted amazing, she wouldn't even try one after I mentioned it.)
She had all sorts of (mostly negative) things to say about how men are or "should be".
It wasn't a suprise to hear she had been single most of her adult life.
Funny how those who complain the loudest often have the least understanding.
#6
Well, some folks will dub anything “unmanly” just to feel more “manly” themselves. Yet, the irony, as this person on Quora pointed out, is that usually, actual real men aren’t that preoccupied with defining these things. Basically, what they imply is that insecurity is the drive behind folks obsessing with this label.
And what blossoms under insecurity about manliness? Toxic masculinity, yes. In a nutshell, this term refers to a collection of offensive, harmful beliefs and behaviors taken to the extreme, which are rooted in and “excused” by traditional male roles.
Typically, the “victims” of this syndrome believe 3 key things. The first one is that men have to be “tough” – physically strong, emotionless, and aggressive.
#7
I guess that tracks since some men also refuse to drink plain water. 😑.
#9
Then, they tend to believe in “antifemininity” too – anything that’s somehow related to feminine behaviors is unacceptable to them. As we saw in today’s list, anything, even something as human as showing emotions, can be assigned to this category. While from a side view, these categorizations look irrational, for some they apparently make sense.
The third key belief of toxic masculinity is “power.” Essentially, they believe that men should work toward obtaining influence and status, as it’s what makes others respect them.
As you can probably tell, toxic masculinity doesn’t seem like a very healthy lifestyle, neither for a man himself nor the folks around him.
#10
I once worked with a guy who wouldn’t eat Mr. Goodbar or drink Mr Pibb because he didn’t want anything that has a male identified name in his mouth.
#11
I couldn't argue with his galaxy brain logic.
#12
The upcoming week was a long weekend, and this guys girlfriend's parents were going out of town, and she had invited him over to spend the weekend alone with her. However, this weekend was also a weekend when there was some college football game, and the fraternity was having a watch party. When he told his fraternity brothers that he could not go to the watch party because he was going to go spend the weekend alone with his girlfriend, they ... accused him of being gay, and not a 'real man'. Because the thing a 'real' straight hetero man would prefer doing was spending all weekend with a bunch of other men, NOT spending all weekend having [intercourse] with his girlfriend.
On a personal level, it harms a person's mental well-being, as non-stop clinging to the mentioned ideals might actually not be in the man's nature.
For instance, he might be rather an emotional person, but according to these beliefs, showing emotions is a no-go, so he’s forced to hold back this part of himself. Suppressed emotions lead to increased stress, and mental struggles and can even negatively impact physical health.
Then, on a societal level, the spread of such toxic ideas leads to aggression, discrimination against women, homophobia, transphobia, and other similar nasty things.
#14
-written from a bath tub full of foam and candles and a cishet male.
#15
Sadly, while stopping this whole toxic “movement” in one go is impossible, all we can do is try to educate ourselves and as many other people as possible so they won’t fall down this rabbit hole.
Examining and challenging unconscious biases, taking a stand against harmful speech and behavior (making sure it’s safe for you to do so), avoiding gender stereotyping (especially in front of very impressionable children), and so on – there are plenty of ways to fight it. Maybe one day, step by step (no matter how small), it will get better. Or we’re just too naive.
#16
#17
He was impotent.
#19
#20
