Manliness - what is it?

[Andersson]

I grew up in a time when it meant to keep your promises and support your family. Over the years I have seen people try to change the meaning of this word. You need full facial hair, must hunt and so on. What does the word mean to you?

 

[DeputyDad]

To me, it means standing up and doing what has to be done without whining and complaining. It means to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and comparing yourself based on who is driving which car and owns which phone. It means putting other people before yourself sometimes.

 

[Timothy]

I don't disagree with you guys, but I think those definitions really apply to adulthood in general and not just to "manliness." In this day and age, regardless of gender, I think it's every adult's responsibility to help support his/her family and not whine or complain about it. I'm not sure I know how to define "manliness" as opposed to "womanliness," though. I guess it deals with being what you consider masculine. For some people, maybe that does mean having facial hair. Maybe for others it means being muscular or being a good hunter or fisherman.