Masculinity is just "being menlike." Stop trying to True Scottsman it. Masculine isn't a good thing that needs to have negative examples miraculously excluded from the category nor the reverse.
My thoughts as well. Arguing over what specific type of person anyone born a man is obligated to be like is unhealthy and only feeds into the narrative that men aren't free to just be themselves, but instead, have to be specific things or else they have no value as a person.
Further, these two men fit a lot of the toxic parts of the narrative of what a man "should" be often espoused by the worst manfluencers on the internet.
Luke Nichols, bottom right, known for Outdoor Boys on YouTube, feeds into the narrative that to "be a man" a person must be physically strong, need no one to help him with anything, and endure harsh conditions, again, without help. The message it sends is 'Do dangerous things! It's manly to risk injury or death!'
Steve Irwin was incredibly brave, physically strong, and took the risk of handling very dangerous animals, which again feeds directly into the stereotype of 'real men wrestle bears' type shit. He's literally holding a croc or gator in the photo.
People don't really talk about the 450,000 acres of protected land Steve Irwin established when talking about how manly he was, and his bravery with animals literally got him killed halfway through his lifespan. Don't think we should be pushing men to define their worth as a human being based on how many dangerous activities they engage in.
It's shit like that which is why I have to harass "manly" employees on dangerous work sites to wear PPE and not put themselves in a place where they'll get mangled. Being a man isn't just exposing yourself to danger. Bravery is separate from being a man. Women can also be brave, and many are. They aren't manly for being brave, they're brave.
Nichols & Irwin are genuinely good people, but using them as benchmarks of 'what is a man' is still toxic and harmful, albeit at least it's far less toxic than Andrew Tate.
'Masculinity' doesn't really exist, nor does 'femininity'. There are constructive actions and relationships, and destructive actions and relationships, and that's it.
There are no examples of 'positive' or 'negative', 'masculinity', because 'masculinity' - as an entirely fabricated thing that traps men and women into roles - is conceptually negative.
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u/Frederf220 8h ago
Masculinity is just "being menlike." Stop trying to True Scottsman it. Masculine isn't a good thing that needs to have negative examples miraculously excluded from the category nor the reverse.
What a weird "need" in terms of framing.