Quote:
Originally Posted by Playlife  The thing is, I don't need to "reclaim" anything. No-one has taken any of my masculinity away. It's more of the opposite - I've always been told to be more "manly". And now this article also seems to suggest that there's something wrong with me that I don't want to control things all the time and I don't want to "develop" and "improve" things, myself included. |
I said: "I believe the stuff Steve wrote, is helpful to men on the path to reclaiming their masculinity."
Where did you get from that I was talking about you personally?
There's nothing "wrong" with not developing or improving your life. Those are value judgments YOU make, for yourself.
I'm told there's something wrong with me because I am apparently "sexist" and "dogmatic". But frankly, that's not how I live my life. I will tell you though, that as my own personal sense of masculinity has increased, my appreciation for women has increased as well.
The more I see the unique characteristics men have, the more I see the unique characteristics that WOMEN have, and I value how DIFFERENT they truly are. I see more now how men and women COMPLEMENT each other. Things that are identical, do not complement each other. Walking with two left shoes is going to feel weird.
But Playlife, if you read ANYTHING, that you perceive suggests that there is "something wrong with you", and you get defensive, or respond negatively, you need to LOOK AT THAT. I don't care if it's about being a man or anything else. And I'm not going to sit here and say that I have mastered this, I haven't. But the more self-empowered you feel, the less likely you are going to react negatively to ideas and concepts that apparently threaten you. I think Steve's post to Spartan summed that aspect up quite well.