• m0darn@lemmy.ca
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    18 hours ago

    I’ve never heard anyone say that phrase, is it possible that people use that expression to mean “a man likes to feel like a man… not a machine”? Ie he has thoughts, emotions, and priorities. He is not a commodity, his worth is more than just profit he can produce.

    Not that women don’t also have those attributes, just that “man” is being used as an outdated shorthand for humanity.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      It’s hard to tell from the context, but it felt to me more like something a right-wing guy with really unrealistic expectations says to their soon to be ex-girlfriend (or possibly to the fiance in the marriage the church arranged) about how they need to be the one in charge.

    • abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      I’m not sure how i feel about the post altogether. I mean, i understand that toxic masculinity is bad, but this post needs some assumptions and context to make me want to side with it. For example, if I saw some guy just kinda minding his business doing silly guy stuff and the context was he wants to “feel like a man,” i don’t think i would be offended or concerned?

      r/justguysbeingdudes comes to mind

      • TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works
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        15 hours ago

        I’ve heard this one before from my conservative grandma, It’s when a girl is doing something manly that the guy ““should”” be doing. Like if a girl is carrying in all the groceries while a guy is just watching someone would say “let [guy] do it, he’s supposed to feel like a man”

        This came up a lot as my sister is very much a ‘do it yourself’ kinda gal whereas her (now ex) boyfriend wasn’t much of an initiative taker.

        It’s not about a guy not doing manly things, it’s about stopping women from doing manly things.
        (also note I’m using ‘manly’ in the stereotypical terms, not how I personally see them)

        • abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world
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          10 hours ago

          Again, that’s added context. I don’t know how feeling like a man is stopping a women from anything. I don’t think that’s a necessary component of the statement at all, though i appreciate the reply

      • kshade@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        It probably is about feeling useful/needed. That’s what men are taught to measure their self-worth in.