I’ve thought about this before, so I’ll just copy + paste what I wrote. Have fun:
Masculinity is having
DRIVE. Like prey drive.
- There is a competitive ASPECT to masculinity. But masculinity in and of itself is not competitiveness.
- There is an aggressive ASPECT to masculinity. But masculinity in and of itself is not aggression.
- There is a stoic ASPECT to masculinity. But masculinity in and of itself is not stoicism.
- There is a dominance ASPECT to masculinity. But masculinity in and of itself is not dominance.
Nor are any of these things masculinity either. There is some overlap, but
they are not the same. However, just because they are not the same, does not mean that these things aren’t inherent within a man and his masculine nature. All of these things
are still present in masculinity. It’s just that TRULY masculine men CONTROL these aspects, rather than having them control him.
A man CONTROLS these urges. However, that does not mean that he suppresses them either. Men should not bottle up their emotions, because there is masculine expression within those emotions. However, you should not let your emotions dictate you either. You should still try to keep composure. Don’t be afraid to say what you think or show how you feel about something, because if you are, that means that you ARE repressing what you feel inside.
...
Stoicism is just in reference TO self-control, used to DESCRIBE it. It is not to be used in place OF self-control. It’s not the same thing.
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So in essence, masculinity is DRIVE. Drive has elements
of dominance, aggression, competitiveness, and stoicism, but these things standalone are not masculinity in and of itself. Masculinity only takes PARTS of these traits, not all of them entirely.
There is also something else that is important, too: by saying that this is what masculinity is, it would therefore have to imply that femininity cannot be these things either. Interestingly enough, femininity cannot be these things. When I was originally writing this, however long ago, I didn’t realize that the characteristics I had chosen above were actually characteristics that femininity could not be. It was only until someone else basically pointed this out to me that I realized this.
Another thing: a man must also have self-control, too, so that he is not controlled by his drive (or any one single element of masculinity, for that matter). This is what separates a man from a barbarian.
Oh Pook, how I have become you.
And as for you,
@Spaz, I didn’t include the traits
strength,
toughness, and
power because by being masculine, you will automatically develop said traits just as a side effect of being masculine.