What makes a man a man? What does the phrase “be a man” really mean? Are there strict definitions of what a real man is, how he acts, how he presents himself to the world? This video presents an interesting viewpoint of how men feel about that specific phrase and also what they feel being a man means.

It’s really interesting to hear how many younger boys thought that when someone said be a man that it meant they had to be tough.

I feel that, in our society, boys grow up thinking that if they are not this insanely macho, manly man type of personality then they aren’t a “real” man. In reality, men come in all different shapes, sizes and personality types. What one person considers to “be a man” wouldn’t necessarily fit into another person’s views on the subject. Why does our society place so much emphasis on teaching our children that they have to be a certain way in order to be “normal”, to fit in?

In the video, males from age 5 to 50 reacted and shared their opinions. The overwhelming response was “to be tough.” It was also interesting, though, that a lot of the men, especially getting up closer to 30 and above, felt that the term was sexist. Others answered that they felt that the classical use of the term wasn’t what they wanted to be like because of the violence it caused towards women historically.

We present this view that men need to be powerful, masculine, tough, macho, manly, unafraid and in control, but really, we should be encouraging males to be themselves whether that fits into society’s norms of what a man should be like or not. SHARE the love and pass it on!