Never Settle For Less

As I promised last week I’m going to deliver the first article in the Assault on Macho Men Series.  My first article is about the talents that men have and hide.

Somewhere in ancient history the great man’s man (whoever that is) decided that only a few tasks on this earth were indeed manly.  They include

• Killing animals with your bare hands
• Launching projectiles
• Chewing Rocks
• Lifting Huge Objects
• Dragging your knuckles on the ground
• Pounding your chest
• Construction
• Staring at women
• Sports or Athletics

Since the great man’s man has decreed it then so it shall be.  We as men are supposed to do things like bite rocks, lift boxes, and bash each other’s heads in.  In the year 8 A.D. this behavior was acceptable when we didn’t know any better.  It’s slightly ridiculous to see the number of men who frown on creative writing, poetry, speaking, singing, art, and plays as “feminine” professions.

Here’s a perfect example.  A little over a year ago I decided to look into professional speaking as a career path.  I’d began to speak often and I was slowly falling in  love with the experience (while simultaneously losing what was left of the passion I had for my job).  The females I knew where very encouraging for the most part.  Not only did they encourage me but they wanted to be actively involved in my new career.   I was very uptight about sharing these same feelings with any males because I didn’t know what to expect.

Slowly but surely I began to open up to my male friends to very mixed reviews.

“That’s pretty cool”

“That’s stupid”

“That’s ok I guess”

“Aww I see you getting in touch with your feminine side”

“Haha. You write poems now?  How do they start roses are ride violets are blue?”

“What kind of man goes around talking about his feelings like that?”

“Are you gay or something man?”
When the negative sarcastic remarks started to pour in I was caught off balance. A million thoughts ran through my mind.  Why was I being treated like this?  Why were men taking my innermost desires and dreams and turning them into a big joke? Was I going to be outcast from my male peer group because of this?

This inner battle went on for about a month before I’d had enough.  I soon realized that I was acting out of character and allowing the opinions of others to shape the career path I chose to create.  I became angry with myself for falling prey to such basement level motivations.  Eventually I decided that people were going to say something either way.  What difference doesn’t make to me one way or the other?

That’s when I realized the difference between myself and the macho men.

The macho man is not expressive.  He is a sheer brute like the many brutes that came before him.  Even if he can’t jog a 1/2 mile, bench press half his body weight, or climb a flight of stairs.  He can still be MACHO.  He can still drag his knuckles on the ground, chew rocks, scratch sticks together for fire, and throw projectiles into the air.  After all isn’t that what we all want out of life?  The drag our knuckles on the the ground, chew a rock, and then throw that rock at a defenseless animal ?  Well I don’t but I know plenty of people who do.
MACHO brutes hide behind their vail of pride and never really explore their true talents.  They are too consumed with worry over what is masculine and feminine in this world.  Lifetimes have been wasted hiding behind the macho curtain.  I prefer to take the curtain away and live the way I see fit.

I’ll explore my talents even if they are “feminine”.  I can take comfort in knowing what my talents are and knowing that I’m doing my best to develop them.

Hey Mr. Macho Man! “Can you say the same?”

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Other, Humor, The Assault on Macho (Series). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.