I am currently involved in a dispute with my male friends. It all centers around hurt feelings, bruised egos and dice - yup, its a gaming fight.
I seem to recall that men were supposed to be warriors, hunters, gatherers. I seem to remember reading that men did not talk about their feelings, and did not say things like "You really hurt my feelings when you..." What happened to the 'good old days' when you could solve your masculine disputes with a punch in the nose, and a round of beers purchased for the group? When did Oprah take away my right to just be a guy and repress all that silly emotional stuff?
My wife (whom I love dearly) thinks its both hilariously funny, as well as a mark of personal growth on my part that I am now even willing to talk about my feelings. For the overwhelming majority of my life I never talked about my feelings, or pain (other than physical) with anyone. Maybe it was just my upbringing, maybe it was the stuff I dealt with (or rather didn't deal with) growing up - in any event, negative emotions were those things you didn't talk about, you just squashed them down into your stomach until they gave you intestinal challenges, and then you took Pepto. Talking about things, this new hippie-granola-tree hugger-love the world thing... its getting harder and harder to accept.
I am not saying that I want to go back to being, as my lovely wife once put it, an emotional eunuch, but it would be nice to feel like a man again. Quick, someone punch me in the face!
Maybe, rather than it being the death of manhood, it is the evolution of personhood?
ReplyDeleteIn the past few years, I've turned into a complete hippie. But I still don't understand the necessity to talk about feelings with anyone other than the kids and His Nibs.
However, I'd recommend against a punch in the face. You're too pretty. ;p