My father is who set my view of masculinity. He's a strong, confident man who spent decades in the military, and the rest of his career as a cop. He's calm, fearless and always in control of every situation no matter how dangerous or unexpected. BUT...he's also one of the most gentle, loving, and respectful people I've ever met. He's kind and respectful toward women (the angriest I've EVER seen him is during a rant about how the middle east treats women), and he's not the least bit afraid to hug his grown sons and tell them that he loves them. That's what true masculinity should be, IMHO...that balance of strength and gentleness, not the arrogance, cruelty and disrespect that modern society often misidentifies as manliness. QFT. I think that's just the way workplaces are going these days, at least in the US. All the crazies shooting up their workplaces have made people wary of any kind of anger. Confession time: I was written up at work a few years ago for angrily arguing with a coworker...both the coworker and my boss were male. I can't imagine anyone actually being afraid of me, since I'm pretty sure I'm one of the least intimidating people EVER, but I was cautioned not to show that kind of anger at work because it worries people. /embarrassing Holy Jesus, those people would scare the crap out of me. That's domestic abuse and/or rape waiting to happen. Ugh. The "mommy wars" suck big time. The basic fact is that it's NOT always possible for the mother to stay at home, for a variety of reasons (including single moms...would you rather have them go on welfare?? Duuuuhhhh.). Cruel comments about daycare and selfishness are handed down by women who don't appreciate how incredibly *lucky* to be able to stay home. You've hit the nail on the head. It's not that women are more likely to be bisexual, it's that there's less of a stigma for a woman to compliment or appreciate another woman's appearance. It's an issue of socialization, not biology. I mean, I think my sister is a major hottie, but I sure as hell don't want to have sex with her. THIS. Don't get me started on my slash rant...where male fans sneer at slash porn, then go home and shamelessly watch two lesbians fucking without even realizing their own hypocrisy. Men think two women together are hot, women think two men together are hot. Not rocket science here, folks.
My father was a drill sergeant and a florist. So my childhood mostly consisted of being alternately shouted at and asked if a particular flower display looked good. But then he was also a fish breeder and professional footballer. And barrack storesman and pub cellarman. Dunno about masculinity, but he was certainly very busy.
There's nothing unmanly about botany or fish breeding. Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the finest swordsman to ever live, a man who revolutionized the way of the samurai, advocated that these warriors should pursue art as well as martial prowess. Musashi himself practiced calligraphy, and there are stories about him appreciating flower arrangements, as well as numerous samurai of that era and the ones that followed that practiced making flower arrangements of their own.
Yes. I think doing artistic things while also doing more traditionally "manly" things makes one more manly.
