Literature What it means to be a man.

Zombocalypse

Quintessential Badboy
What it means to be a man.

(An essay by Zombocalypse)
In the beginning of my childhood at the age of thirteen, I started becoming fascinated with all things masculine. Anything and everything there was about becoming a manly man interested me, from martial arts to driving fast cars. But this didn't really become an obsession of mine until I actually started lifting weights.

A brief history: When I was seventeen years old, I deadlifted 455 pounds and bench pressed 275. Very impressive for a boy my age. Relatively recently, I squatted 405 pounds, deep, with a pause at the bottom.

I'm no weightlifter, but those numbers require intense training to accomplish. And I am proud of them.

I first started becoming deeply interested in the opposite sex at the age of seventeen. It was in high school that I first fell in love with someone. She was a beautiful woman, with huge boobs and a great personality. But she was a bit of a lost kid. She partied a lot and was generally a troubled girl. But I didn't care. I was smitten.

After realizing that the farthest I've ever gotten and will ever get from her was a mere hug, I was crushed. But the experience opened a whole new world from me. I decided, at that young age, to be a player. I thought that sex and the playboy lifestyle was vital for the true development of any man. Forget the wishy-washy romance. It was all about sex and affections.

With that, I lived a life of hedonism and debauchery, succeeding with my playboy endevours. I felt proud of my lifestyle and held comfort in the fact that I was on my way to manhood.

However, a sudden realization occurred... I thought, why on Earth did Belldandy fall in love with the wimpy, unmanly Keiichi if she could've had any other man? She was a goddess after all and was very beautiful.

I also wondered, despite the fact that Yujiro Hanma and Vegeta were the manliest of all manly anime men, most girls I've been with preferred boyish boytoys instead of manly men. It baffled me. I recounted then, of experiences I've had with some women who chose a wimpy boy instead of an alpha male, like I thought I was.

I had to re-evaluate...

I've always believed that in this world of ours, there are two and only two main forces at play. Black and white. Masculine and feminine. Ferocity and beauty.

On the side of masculinity, we have beer, sex, muscles, violence, and hummers. On the side of femininity, we have love, fine wine, and flowers. I wondered why the flying fuck would women want someone other than a handsome, masculine man? Why the flying fuck did Anri chose Mikado? It made no sense. Until I realized something...

Manhood isn't about violence and muscles, it's about balance. True, men with abs and money are attractive. But there is more to the heart than superficial attractions.

In the world of women, correct me if I'm wrong, but there is a sort of mystery in an emo kid without money. Somehow, unmanly boys could themselves be "manlier" than "manly men" for the simple reason that they have their shit together. They thrive in a world full of aggression despite the fact that they are gentle. I realized then, that manhood and manliness is as much about getting in touch with your feminine side as it is getting hot cars. There is both beauty and strength with that. To be a man, you must also be a woman. Weird but true. Balance is key.

I think the same thing applies to womanhood. Balance is also key. Just look at girls like Erika Karisawa. They're not the most feminine women out there, but they grasp our heart because of their whacky boyish atttitudes.

Fin.



Thanks for reading.
 
Well they call them gentlemen for a reason, the word implies a certain amount of discernment as opposed to testosterone overdose.
 
You've realized that being a "player" isn't the key to success in life? Well. Congratulations! You've started the process called "growing up".
 
girls prefer a guy who's respectful and treats them like an equal and partner rather than some testosterone-obsessed loser that only values them for sex and his own gain? no shit, sherlock!

also, there is nothing particularly mysterious about being an emo kid with no money... and this statement comes from years of experience.
 
What it means to be a man is very subjective these days.

Being a man is not just the physical attributes, it involves spirit and mind as well. With great strength comes great responsibility by being able to stand on your own two feet and have something to call your own are qualities in of their own that can define masculinity. Being manly is often misconstrued something purely physical. Being manly is basically being able to stand against the storm that life throws at you without buckling so easily like a seaside fort. In three words being man encompasses: endurance, independence and fellowship.
 
I dunno. I prefer a man that beats me and kicks me when I'm down.

Just kidding! :P I don't think I'm even qualified to answer. All I do all day is daydream. Who needs the real world anyways?
 
All you need to be a man is to be as swift as the coursing river with all the strength of a great typhoon.

But in all seriousness, I don't really understand the purpose of the essay- is it really a revelation that different people are attracted to different qualities about people? Everybody is different and likes different things.

However, the way you've written the essay is good- it reads at a decent pace. I think you should consider doing more research on the subject so that you can understand mutiple opinions on the matter? Some alternate points of view might make the essay more interesting to read and give the reader more to think about.
 
Correction, everyone. Swift as a coursing river, FORCE of a great typhoon. Not strength, force. lol.

You must be swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon.

God I love that song.
 
For everyone here in RPNation.
Very well, then if I may, I will take that to assume that you did this of your volition and without any particular obligations as to form or content. Given the choice of tag, I will also assume that this is not merely showing a particular experience you went through, but rather it´s an essay that you wrote with a point in mind.

With those assumptions I can now criticize it on three matters:
1- You dealt with the concept of manlihood as per the traditional concept first (understandable and reasonable), but were torn away from that concept not by your success or lack thereof, not by any particular abstract reasoning, but by the conflicting notions from fictional characters. Fictional characters are often constructed to pander to an audience as a fantasy or to a specific niche of romantic attraction. Therefore they present very little in terms of argumentative strength.

2- there is a lack of connection between your problem and your conclusions that falls into the middle ground fallacy. It´s a fallacy that dictates that it is fallacious to assume that, when two opposing options may be correct or not, the middle ground is the correct answer. Not you nor anyone else can make that assumption, there is no fundament for it, but in turn, this fallacious argument is the whole structure of your conclusion.

3-Manlihood is one of the few things I would argue is actually subjective. What one sees as being a man is shaped entirely by the image one has of the ideal man, but it´s not like it matters regardless. Knowing what someone thinks about men could help, but it tells you nothing about what others would think and it doesn´t change anything beyond that, beyond that one person, just like anything else that is subjective.
 
I first started becoming deeply interested in the opposite sex at the age of seventeen. It was in high school that I first fell in love with someone. She was a beautiful woman, with huge boobs and a great personality. But she was a bit of a lost kid. She partied a lot and was generally a troubled girl. But I didn't care. I was smitten.

I laughed, I'll admit it.

no kil pls
 
Im sorry did someone say that gender is a social construct and that all woman have different tastes and aren't necessarily attracted to any of the qualities that are listed above? What? Maybe I misheard that...
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top