The Unmanly Man

I was reading the postings on a forum that I like to read and the question was asked, (not for the first time), “What has happened to the manly man?” It got me to thinking about how society has changed over the last few decades. When I was young, women were just starting to work outside the home on a regular basis, the ERA amendment was in full swing and the sexual revolution was at its peak. Men of that time understood that their first task was to get up each and every morning and get their rear ends to work and earn a living so that they and their own were able to have a good life. That wasn’t to say that a number of women didn’t earn a good living and provide the needed income for the family, but the men of that period of time weren’t the lazy and shiftless bunch of half wits they seem to be today, rather they had a purpose and went about getting things done.

Today that is no longer the case. These days, I have found that whenever I watch a television program or even a commercial, the men are portrayed as being less than capable. For example, you don’t see the woman in the commercial being belittled for forgetting that they use the newest product, but rather it is the man. When something dumb happens, all eyes turn to the male in the scene, never the woman. Even the children get into the act as demonstrated on one commercial where they get after the father for not having a plate under his burger and thus staining the table cloth. It is not so much that men don’t do dumb things, but if you were to take your impressions of today’s male from the television you would think he is about 25 IQ points below the average dog.

Then there is the feminization of the modern male. Time was any guy who wore a necklace or earrings was either a pirate or homosexual. Now men seem to wear more jewelry than the women. I cannot even begin to relate the times I have gone on my daily errands and have seen couples where the men have the most jewelry. Why is that? A hundred years ago much like today it was always considered a good thing to dress well and wear your best and at times that included silk stockings, but at no time did anyone get the impression that those men were less than the most manly of men. That is no longer the case or so I fear.

What is the deal with makeup, body spray, pedicures and waxings? Men didn’t wear makeup or as many call it “guy liner” unless they were on stage, television or at the circus! Body spray is nothing more than perfume renamed and I cannot even begin to talk about men getting pedicures and waxings.  What have we done to our young men to make them appear more female than male? Is it a case of as was once said, “we are a generation of men raised by women?” and as such simply emulate what we know and not what we once knew?

The bottom line is that perhaps it is not the fault of any one group or movement, but rather the side effect of living in an age where all of the physical challenges we once faced are no longer there. As all of the tallest mountains have been climbed. The new lands explored and settled, the deep seas experienced and the dreams of space are still just that and as such we are changing to a softer and gentler man.

Enjoy!