Being a Man in the Modern World

[morley.tyler]

There seems to be more than a little victimhood, in this thread. I'm gonna go out on a limb, based on basic demographics, and guess that 85%+ of this audience is, middle-class (and up), middle-aged, white, men.

I know there are many proud, capable, women on this forum- this is not aimed at you.

Also, to all of our friends from the Commonwealth, this may apply, but I've tried not to trifle in your politics since 1812

For those feeling victimized, as a gender, I'll ask the same question of you, that my dear old dad asked me, once upon a time:

You were born a middle-class, white, man, in America... which one of those things do you wanna give up? Pick one.

 

[np307]

Emerson was crazy and anybody who bases an entire belief system off of one small quote of his is also crazy.

 

[thomas89]

I'm drawing the line at hugging any of you SOB's though.

 

[Dave N]

There's no answer here that keeps me out of trouble.

I bow to a superior intellect.

Good answer!

 

[Four22]

I feel it’s my job as a father to teach my kids a little grit. We catch fish, knock the side off of them and cook them. We’re going to shoot things, clean them and eat. They open the car door for their mother and say please, thank you and yes sir when necessary.

I’ll hammer them when they get to the dating age to be a gentleman and treat a young lady right even if it means someone will make fun of you.

Do what’s right even when no one is looking.

Might not be “mountain man” standards, but they’ll be good men when they get there.

 

[jlong17]

You’re not a man until you complete one of these courses: https://mtntactical.com/ …. If you know, you know

 

[OntarioHunter]

I remember my late wife's father bragging to me that HE never changed a diaper. Not much of a man ... or father as it turns out. Why would anyone choose to miss those intimate (but not too intimate!) moments with their child? I haven't spoken to that selfish unfeeling SOB since the funeral ... eleven years now. A walking waste of oxygen ... for a multitude of reasons.

 

[morley.tyler]

I remember my late wife's father bragging to me that HE never changed a diaper. Not much of a man ... or father as it turns out. Why would anyone choose to miss those intimate (but not too intimate!) moments with their child? I haven't spoken to that selfish unfeeling SOB since the funeral ... eleven years now. A walking waste of oxygen ... for a multitude of reasons.

You're not a dad until a baby has pissed on you. That's just science.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

If you are too much of a man to do anything that needs being done, or if you feel compelled to prove you are a man, you probably aren't a good one...

 

[2rocky]

The podcast I referenced in the OP has a lot of good articles in the Blog. The one I really liked was "100 skills every man should know"

Part of being a man is being competent and effective in the world. To do that, you’ve got to have skills. A man wants to know (or at least feel like he knows) that no matter what situation he’s placed in, he’ll be able to handle himself — to act rather than be acted upon. Hence our incessant drive to figure out what skills we’ll need to know in order to demonstrate confidence and capability in our manly roles as procreators, protectors, and providers.

For primitive man, this needed skill-set was clear and relatively narrow, largely revolving around the jobs of fighting and hunting.

The breadth of skills needed today, however, is much wider. The modern man must be both a warrior and a diplomat, a woodsman and a scholar. We need both hard skills and soft skills; skills we use every day and skills we keep in the back pocket, just in case.

We’ve covered many of these skills over the years on the Art of Manliness, and so figured it was time to add our contribution to the collective cultural enterprise of figuring out which skills a well-rounded, grown man should have

100 Skills Every Man Should Know

Part of being a man is being competent and effective in the world. To do that, you've got to have skills. Here are 100 skills every man should know.

www.artofmanliness.com

 

[El Jason]

Interesting thread, but at the end of the day I care a lot more about the quality of the person inside, regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman. Integrity, character, compassion, grace, are far more important to me than any skill they may or may not have. I’d rather help a really nice guy change his tire, than listen to some asshole tell me how good he is at doing that task.

*edited to satisfy the review board

 

[Ben Lamb]

I’d rather help a really nice guy change his tire, then listen to some asshole told me how good he is at doing that task.

*tell

 

[Ben Lamb]

*edited to satisfy the review board

Noted.

The podcast I referenced in the OP has a lot of good articles in the Blog. The one I really liked was "100 skills every man should know"

100 Skills Every Man Should Know

Part of being a man is being competent and effective in the world. To do that, you've got to have skills. Here are 100 skills every man should know.

www.artofmanliness.com

Is making toast truly a skill that people need though? Pretty good list.

 

[TOGIE]

Is making toast truly a skill that people need though? Pretty good list.

no.

but on the other hand, flipping a fried egg with only the pan without breaking the yolk....

 

[2rocky]

Noted.



Is making toast truly a skill that people need though? Pretty good list.

no but burning it is a dealbreaker....

 

[Ben Lamb]

no.

but on the other hand, flipping a fried egg with only the pan without breaking the yolk....

the key is ensuring the proper pan temperature and enough butter to keep the egg from sticking. I used to be able to do this with a 3 egg omlette when I worked in a kitchen.

 

[JimQ]

Along those lines, below is a book that's worth checking out....the foreword and chapter 1 influenced me greatly, 20 years ago. If you're Christian the entire book is a good read, but even if you're not there's a lot of truth here.

View attachment 194099

I was given this book last year and have read it twice now. Great book!

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The podcast I referenced in the OP has a lot of good articles in the Blog. The one I really liked was "100 skills every man should know"

100 Skills Every Man Should Know

Part of being a man is being competent and effective in the world. To do that, you've got to have skills. Here are 100 skills every man should know.

www.artofmanliness.com

So dumb, half of these are ridiculously antiquated and the others will be at some point.

Honestly, the ability to quickly learn something is probably the most useful skill.

At this point who wears a shoe that needs to be shined? Arguably installing your own ram, replacing a hard drive, and setting up security setting on your personal data is a far more important set of skills.

And in 30 years those will all likely be antiquated and anyone who says you need to be able to swap out ram cards will be an asshat.

Bet hatchet makers love these manly lists though.

 

[mtmuley]

Me and my kid are doing some manly stuff today. mtmuley

 

[El Jason]

Honestly, the ability to quickly learn something is probably the most useful skill.

This.

With the help of Google, I can quickly learn (relearn?) how to tie a necktie every few years when I need to wear one.

Wet shave? WTF?????