Remember hipsters—those dorky dudes caught somewhere between the Victorian Era and the Civil War (as far as fashion goes anyway). I know, they’re still around; but for the most part, that trend is all but dead. That’s what trends do—they show up, make an impact, then silently fade away into the void of WTF. With hipsters also came a trend of male grooming. We started to see products and services that offered men this odd/fraud form of masculinity. Suddenly we were swarmed with luscious beards that gleamed in the sunlight and smelled like cedar, lemon balm, and verbena. Mustache wax came out of retirement like Tito Ortiz did in 2014 (nobody asked for it, nobody cared). Then, a knee-jerk reaction happened.
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Masculinity fought back against the fraudulent Kabuki theater perpetrating itself as the new version of man. So much so that it was demonized as Toxic Masculinity. To be clear: misogyny, homophobia, and all forms of hate are wrong. But there is nothing wrong with being a man. Embracing your masculinity is one of the more rewarding things in life. Masculinity is also not a trend; it is a natural God -given right.
One of my favorite gyms I’ve even been in. (Shout out to Matt Leyshock)
For the purpose of this blog, we’ll define masculinity by four categories—Strength, Courage, Mastery, and Honor. The embodiment of those categories are the foundation to masculinity ( and not looking like a Banana Republic lumberjack) . I may go on later to write about those in later posts, but for now, let’s presume to accept those at the face value of their respective terms.
For all of us, there is room for improvement in those areas. We can all be stronger. We can all stand to be more courageous. Any one of us would benefit more from mastering a skill, or a craft. Then there’s honor; perhaps the most overlooked and presumed ‘already acquired’ of the four categories. To expand on that, ask yourself what makes you honorable. (Take a minute. Do it as an exercise.) In it’s simplest form, as it pertains to masculinity, honor is the term used for your worth. If you have no honor, then you are worthless. If I can attack you with impunity, you have no honor. If you do not add to the team, the unit, the family, the tribe, (and so on) then you are worthless. We honor those whose position is higher than ours as defined by our own perception. They are honorable.
As men, we should be inclined to chase those traits. We should be motivated to acquire skills that make us valuable in a setting—and thus be rewarded with honor. We should not live in fear of being masculine.
“Strength is rarely a disadvantage.”
Martial arts is man shit. Do more man shit.
We’ve all heard the phrase “get in touch with your feminine side.” Piss on that. Now is not the time. We’ve been relegated to an acceptance culture that rewards tolerance and punishes someone who holds true to their values. Be a man. Get in touch with your masculine side—NAY!—be masculine. Go do “man shit.” Get stronger, be courageous, master a skill, and obtain the rewards of honor. Or, in other words, be brave enough to learn something new that develops your character in a way that promotes other men to see you as someone they want to have around. Trust me, it’s cool.
