The Death of Manliness

I just fixed my gate!

It’s not perfect and it probably wouldn’t hold up in a storm but it opens and closes and the panel, which was not level with the others preventing me from locking it properly and thus leading to it snapping off, is now securely screwed into place.

Screwed I may add using a my hands and a screw driver. No cheating by using power tools for me! Just plain old brute force and ignorance… The manly way!

As you may have noticed I’m proud of this. Just as I am proud as hell of the new flushing system I fitted back in December that is not only still working like a charm (6months later) but also has it not leaked.

Why am I so proud? Because in an age of computers where you can get information about any subject at any time and learn anything at the click of a mouse, we are forgetting how good it feels to do the most basic things.

We are the only species in the world that have the ability to use tools to do more than poke or bash stuff. We all love a documentary where we see apes cracking nuts with stones or using sticks to get bugs out of a hole to eat. We don’t think about the fact that we can do so with our hands other that push buttons. (Once again I am aware of the irony that I am typing this).

So what does manliness have to do with it?

Men used to have a place in the world. We used to fight wild animals, hunt, fish, build, fight and defend. We used to farm, load, carry and protect our loved ones and our land from predators all with strong hands and strong back.

Men used to be powerful and strong, warriors and kings!

Have you seen what man has become?

The modern- and I use this term lightly- “alpha male” is a shiny, orange, sweet smelling, overly preened peacock with soft hands and manicured nails!

The amount of times I see one of these “men” and say to myself if I looked like that at his age I would of been punched is beyond me.

My question is; what do women see in that?

Don’t get me wrong I understand the need to be well presented. But fake tan and plucked eyebrows is pushing it.

There is nothing manly about spending longer to get ready to go out than your wife/girlfriend.

Speaking of which, when did it become fashionable to wear her clothes? This is not just me picking on the younger and more fashionable believe me. I was actually told by someone that their boyfriend buys his jeans from 5he women’s section because they fit tighter… TIGHTER? Why the hell would you want to wear tighter jeans? I split the back out of 3 pairs of trousers last year picking stuff up in suit trousers because my legs and glutes are too big and I couldn’t hitch.- if you are unfamiliar with the hitch it is pulling your trousers an inch or so above your ankles to add a little extra seat room when sitting etc.

Even the gym community has been hit with this. The gym is a place of testosterone and sweat.-Ladies you all know the respect I have for female weight lifters and a lot of that comes from your ability to put up with the testosterone and smell of sweat.- it is not the place for designer t-shirts and worrying about your hair! You are there to work, to sweat and to feed your primal need to be a true Alpha Male!

The kind of Alpha that makes all those Beta’s cower at your manliness. The kind of Alpha that makes the ladies notice you, want to be associated with you because their primal instinct is to be with the biggest, strongest and most powerful.

So stop talking about where you get your fake tan from!

By no means am I suggesting that men are superior to women. I am however slightly concerned that we are allowing our instincts as men to be dampened. We are no longer striving to be manly.

We have evolved from the caveman, we no longer need to hunt, our homes are no longer at risk of being raided by neighbouring tribes, but we still need to be men.

We need to fix stuff with our own hands, cook meat over a flame (if there is an opportunity to catch a fish or skin a rabbit that’s extra man points) not ask for directions when we are lost and make our loved ones feel protected and safe.

They say chivalry is dead but that’s mostly due to men not being confident enough to open doors for ladies, or take off their jacket and get wet in the rain so their partner doesn’t have to.

Women have always been men’s equals. It doesn’t mean they don’t need a little extra care every now and then. So stop worrying about your own hair and worry about theirs, they look better than you anyway.

So next time you have an opportunity to be manly grab it with you bare hands and put a little effort into it.

Take care