The Mannitude - What The Heck Is It?
Most men in our society have developed an attitude which I call “The Mannitude.” This particular attitude is a by product of societal pressure that is embedded upon each and every man while growing up.
As I was going through the comments on my previous post, I was glad that there are men who actually think the way I do. I was expecting lots of rude comments and so on but to my surprise they weren’t. I myself have tried to be a stereotypical man - a man with muscles, a man whistling at girls but like I have stated in the post above, it just didn’t feel right.
It just felt as somebody was dragging me into the hole that I didn’t want to go in.
Being a man isn’t about thinking that the world owes it to you. Being a man is about standing for yourself when need be, not everytime something is thrown at you. Being a man is about knowing when you are wrong. Being a man is when you have the ability to shed tears when you have to.
So what the heck is “The Mannitude?”
Mannitude is the attitude men have developed due to societal pressure. The need and desire to be the one to provide and to be the one to take all the credit. In today’s modern world a family is usually run by two person - man and a woman, yet a man is taught to think of himself as a sole provider. “The Mannitude” refers to the knowledge that is give to a boy while he grows up to be a man. The Mannitude is a wrong approach to what is being taught to young boys and girls as to what a man should and act like.
A dad wearing a shirt that says “My Other Ride is Your Mom” while eating at a restaurant with his kids, that’s the mannitude - the wrong attitude. Sending out the wrong message to his own young one’s. Mannitude is a message that an older brother throws at his sibling while he watches TV and says “Boy! Check out her ass. She looks freaking hotttt.” Mannitude is the attitude that the society has taught men from the time they were young as to how they should develop as a man, which in my opinion is a wrong message to be sending out.
Think Men, Think! Is “The Mannitude” worth it when your 15 year old son comes home and says “Dad, I got ( name here ) pregnant! ?” No it isn’t. Give your kids the right message. If you got a mannitude, lose it, bury it and set an example by being different. Being different isn’t always a bad thing. If you got a mannitude, I am sorry to break it to you, but you are no where close to being a real man!
When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself. - Louis Naizer
8 Comments
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 am
Bravo! Well said! A real man doesn’t have a mannitude. Men with a mannitude turn off women. They need to give up the cave man attitude and get real. Thx, great post!
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
What is ironic about this attitude of men is that under this projection of manhood (mannitude as you call it) is fear. It is a facade built up to compensate for weakness of a poor self image.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:57 am
@Rose : I am glad you enjoyed the post!
@Awareness : Well said. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your views
July 4th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
From the article:
“Mannitude is the attitude that the society has taught men from the time they were young as to how they should develop as a man, which in my opinion is a wrong message to be sending out.”
Hmmm, it’s not society sending out the messages… Natural man is the provider for his family. Natural man is an asshole and doesn’t care much about anyone outside of his cave. Natural man has been corrupted by society.
So instead of making up some ridiculous words like “Mannitude” I would recommend the author educated his sexist mind and at least skim through some of the following books:
http://www.amazon.com/Rousseaus-Political-Writings …
and the a hypothetical reversal of the corruption of Natural Man:
http://www.amazon.com/Emile-Education-John-Jacques …
July 5th, 2008 at 3:59 am
sunnybeach : Thanks for your comment and the links. I just don’t understand why I am being labeled as racist! I believe in equal rights and see both sexes capable of everything the other one can do. Just wondering
July 6th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Sorry to burst your bubble, but women love badboys & assholes.
Since you didn’t offer a positive counterpoint example to what you were saying, I’ll just assume the best.
But, there are some qualities that are very attractive to women about the mannitude, especially as espoused by The Jerk or The Bad Boy.
Lack of Validation-Seeking, Lack of Supplication, Lack of Concern for others’ opinions of him, a certain impossibility of being tamed, Unshakable Self-Confidence, Being exactly who he is with no apologies, Independence, Strength, Not manipulating women through over-niceness or over-politeness.
Perhaps taking it to the caveman extreme, the jerk extreme, or the bad boy extreme is too much, given the anti-social components of each.
-However, I hope that this post is not suggesting any type of John Hughes/Teenage film delusion about the quirky guy trying hard for 8 years to finally convince the mythical 1 and only hot girl in highschool that he is much better for her and the quarterback is really an abusive narcissist. -Or any Steinem/Faludi/Dworin-eque madness.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Hey I agree with most of what you have been posting, but I take issue with one quote that I have seen a couple of times on your site lately. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to twist my hand in such a way as to get four digits pointed back toward me when I point my index finger at someone else. Admittedly, if I use my thumb with a lightly curled fist, the four fingers point back at me, but this just looks stupid.
July 7th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I think there is a balance that every man has to walk. There is pressure on one side to be an overly aggressive, sportsaholic, walking-blood-supply-for-a-penis, and pressure on the other side to be an overly emotional, soft-hearted, idiot who can actually watch crap like “Everybody Loves Raymond” without feeling sick to his stomach.
Often I think men fear the latter, thus choose the former. It is a basic passive-aggressive struggle that puts things like road rage on the front of the newspaper as an example of why men need to be diagnosed, drugged, and otherwise kept under control. If men would realize that there is more to life than remembering to put the seat down, to avoid being browbeaten by society, they might become effective at what they really are, men.
Men who can be leaders, who are angered by true injustice, and who protect what is theirs (job, family, home, country).
These men have no need to prove their manhood by making disparaging remarks about the opposite sex or to disappearing in front of the TV/Computer for hours at a time while trying to num the self-loathing they feel.
To be clear, I deal with road rage too, but I am learning.
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