What is Masculinity?

     I have thought about this a lot, and I think I may have actually figured it out.

     I could just tell you, but internet "gurus" say that search engines hate short posts.

     So first let's talk about what masculinity is not.

     PUA gurus and their man whore followers say, or I sense a strong implication, that a high notch count is manly. And certainly in centuries past the manliest men would accumulate large harems to satisfy their every sexual whim. These women apparently thought it better to share one manly man than to have one substandard man to their self. But being able to bed drunk women with questionable morals (the general PUA tactic), does not equal masculinity.

This guy is not necessarily masculine...in fact he's probably not.

     Some men who have acquired significant wealth would have you believe that the financial success is the measure of manhood. And of course a man should financially care for himself and his family. There is nothing manly about a grown able bodied man who won't support himself or his family. But to assume that financial success, in the absence of any other masculine virtue, is all it takes to be a man is ludicrous.

Although I'm definitely jealous, this isn't masculinity either.

     I have known criminals that tout their criminal activities as signs of their manliness. They say silly things like, "Ain't no one gonna tell me what to do, cause I'm a Man!" As if rebellion against the powers that be for no reason and often with no benefit equals manliness.

     And the last group I'll touch on are the pseudo alphas. These guys are every where. And it has gotten worse with the rise of the Manosphere. These guys think that all it takes to be alpha is a scowl, a bad attitude and a disregard for others. These guys, because of their lack of self awareness, think they have attained manliness when they've only heightened their douchebagginess.

     So what is manliness? What does it take to be a man? What is the essence of being a man?

     Strength. Strength of body. Strength of mind.

     Strength is the foundation of manliness. Out of it grow the other masculine virtues. Even Jack Donovan's 4 tactical virtues grow out of the bedrock of Strength.

Rosie's strong, but not masculine.

     Now I'm sure someone is saying "No way! Woman can be strong too!" And then they'll probably spew some feminist, girl power clap trap about women being stronger than men.

     I don't want to get into my opinions on strength as it applies to women, except to say: yes, women can and should be strong. But strength is not the essence of femininity. A woman can be weak and still be womanly.

     Not so for a man. For a man, strength is a part of who he is. Men who eschew strength, as is so popular these days, cannot hope to be a masculine man.

     This is why the America is full of men with an identity crisis. American men under 40 have spent their entire lives in a society where the attitudes concerning masculinity are largely shaped by women who hate men. This latest wave of feminism is an attempt to bring the strength of men down to the level of women. And the previous generation stood by and watched it happen.

     But this is why we're here. We know there is a problem. But there is also a solution and it starts with those of us who see the problem. The first step is to be a man.

     Start working on yourself.  Become the proverbial light shining in the darkness. Become a beacon of manliness.

     Start working on your weaknesses. Are you skinny and weak? Hit the gym. Don't like working out? Man up. Are you not well read? Head over to Project Gutenberg and start reading the classics for free. Read Plato, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Machiavelli. Read the writings of the Founding Fathers. Hop on over to Amazon.com and grab a copy of The Way of Man by Jack Donovan (<---By using this affiliate link you help support the blog. And seriously...read this book.)

Steve Reeves had at least 1/2 of the masculinity equation down pat.

     Become a man that other men are drawn to. Being a man that other men want to emulate is the first step in gaining influence with other men. And only by influencing other men can we stem the tide of suckage in this world.