Views : 310,928
Genre: Film & Animation
Date of upload: Jan 25, 2023 ^^
Rating : 4.853 (806/21,072 LTDR)
RYD date created : 2024-04-28T21:12:46.468464Z
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Top Comments of this video!! :3
I was raised a cowboy, and I am a rambler. Been though half the US and several other countries. I am also a cook/chef. I work in hyper masculine and high intensity situations. Recently in leadership positions and something I didn't realize that as a leader in these area is that the hardest part of working with other men and being who I am is that I tend to shake the foundation of what masculinity is. I still wear hats and boots, and look like I'm ready to buck bails at a drop of a hat, but at times will wear make up. I talk openly about struggles that men go through silently and try to create open discourse.
The best piece of advice I ever got was from a lifer who owned the largest cattle operation in my county. He was in his 70s and I was a 7 mixed/black child in an area where there were no other blacks. I asked him why I was made fun of and called the n word so often. And why the other kids thought it was weird that I enjoyed things like flowers and braiding the horse's mains. He told me every cowboy rides his horse, and no one can tell them how else to do it and then laughed. And I've lived with that since.
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This stuff sucks man. As someone who grew up with healthy male figures (father, uncle's, older brothers and cousins) I really can only empathize and sympathize with young men that are missing those vital things.
It's possible to still grow well-rounded without them, but VERY difficult (as I've seen from some friends).
What I can offer is this simple but ageless wisdom; it is NOT ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN. Never has been. Learn about THE WORLD. About the human experience as a whole, nature, art, beauty, history, philosophy, and you will undoubtedly find what and/or who you seek. But it will not solve all your problems, or give you all the answers. You still have to live the uncertainty of life just as anyone else.
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The core of my own masculinity is self definition. I am what I am because I want to be that. I wear my hair long, I like cooking, lifting, emotional openness, etc. And no matter what anyone else thinks about these things, the only determination is that I, and I alone, like them. External validation is nice, but reliance on it for a sense of internal completeness is unreliable at best and utterly destructive at worst. For a lot of dudes, this means validation in relationships with women, but it also means from your fellow men (especially in the case of these alpha/beta/ligma frameworks of thought). It doesn't matter if someone thinks you knitting is 'low T' or some shit. Do you enjoy it? Dope; embrace that shit and live your best life, my man. The peace you seek for yourself is strongest when it is self affirming.
Its also to say: this what people talk about when they say focus on yourself if you want a relationship. When you assert yourself and your own interests earnestly and honestly, the confidence and enjoyment that you instill into yourself is infectious to the people around you. And that IS attractive.
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I grew up in a conservative city that prides itself upon its macho culture. People literally dress in jeans, boots and cowboy hats even if there aren't any farms nearby. "Being a man" is drinking beer, grilling beef, watching sports, being unfaithful to your partner, and not expressing any emotion other than anger or pride. It's a sad but true stereotype. Arts and crafts, cooking, literature, philosophy, psychology and so on are frowned upon. This type of upbringing even affects females; in my city many women act out traits which would be considered to be "toxic masculinity" in other cultures.
Growing up I always loved painting, drawing, reading, dressing "nicely", cooking and making poetry. Because of this, for years people insulted me and implied I wasn't "man enough." Not having a healthy psychological upbringing made me unable to cope with these things and developed into an identity crisis. I never felt attracted to men but I still I questioned if I was gay or if something was wrong with me because I didn't feel as if I fit anywhere. I struggled with this all the way through my 20s, but reading (especially Jung) helped me a lot. Don't we both have a femenine and masculine side, and, what is wrong with being a man who likes supposedly "womanly" things?
I am 34 years old now, I'm a graphic designer, I love art, design, color, literature, cooking and so on. I feel like this is my way of being "a man", or, more accurately, being a person. My girlfriend actually likes these traits and it contributes to us having a healthy relationship. In retrospective I think that identity crisis and suffering was "worth it" because today I feel very comfortable in my own skin. I am a man who likes thinks my society sees as "girly" and I'm OK with it, I even find lots of comedy in being the "odd guy" and not fitting in with the BBQ dads and their mancaves.
If you're a male teen living in a conservative place, and feel like society is dissapointed by you not fitting into the macho mold, don't worry, you can be a man who likes "womanly" things and that doesn't make you any less important, valuable, and more importantly so, it doesn't make you any less of a man. And I think it takes a "man" to acknowledge that.
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I grew up without a father, so I had trouble coming to terms with what masculinity meant to me. I just am myself, ultra manly or not, I like what I like, no matter what people think. I like house plants and flowers, and various cutesy things, but I also like "manly" things as well, like grilling, shooting, and driving. I think the manliest thing you can do is not give a shit
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@Sisyphus55
1 year ago
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