Men! Who, What, Where are you?

Who are you?

It’s getting a bit ridiculous now, there are too many articles today trying to define what a man is, the worse part; most of them are in Men’s Mags.

What has caused such a sudden digression in the standards of men that we question our identity? The great Don Draper would be turning in his fictional grave, no doubt about it. Mad Men reignited old fashioned values, although somewhat biased in favour of men, it re-instilled the basic understanding of what a ‘man’ should be; hard-working, immaculately dressed, courteous, family centred (the Mad Men portrayal of this is questionable) and a provider. Mad Men is all about the macho man, the alpha male, if you may.

Since The TV series depicted men in the 50s and 60s, it is fair to say, men in their current state have....evolved or is it a digression?

Low cut V-necks made fashionable by the likes of Russell Brand, man-bags, gladiator shoes, now I’m all for variety, but this is just a step too far. The furthest I would go is to get a facial and a manicure, after all, I do need to look presentable. But to go as far as, skinny jeans and t-shirts that barely represent the ‘t’ is rather uncomfortable.

How do women feel about it? Technically, men are becoming so fashion savvy, I wouldn’t bet against their being a fashion mag for men soon. I’m sure women like the open-mindedness many men are showing fashion-wise but at what point does this cause men to become questionable of our identity?

Heterosexual, Metrosexual, Homosexual, Alpha Male, Omega Male - few of the many categories a MAN could fit into, where as women are either heterosexual or homosexual. It is all questionable.

Yes, men should be in touch with their feminine side, after all our genes do have x and y chromosomes, but there needs to be a balance. Look at some of the male icons of old, Carey Grant, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Yul Brenner, now, we have Russell Brand, Alan Carr etc. If there was one male to pick out as the ideal male today many men would plump for George Clooney.

Even the very ‘manly’ sport of football is suffering, pampered footballers with more money than brains, who fall to the ground grabbing the wrong part of their body at the slightest touch, “what a wimp,” I say. Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham are two of the most pampered footballers in the world but David Beckham does seem more manly on the football pitch, if questionable off it, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo, Well, everyone in the country knows his story...

The point remains, perhaps, if people are REALLY interested in finding a solution to what a man should be, then we should be going back to basics. What was the original sculpt of a “man” before the current influx of possibilities? Oh yeah, I forgot, NO ONE REMEMBERS!

In my humble opinion, a man is simply - a maker, a provider, a protector. Somewhere along the line (round about the whole “independent women” and “girl power” craze) men lost someone to provide for, to protect to make things happen for, so the blame is just as well with women as it is men. Just Putting it out there!

Oh I must point out, remember when I mentioned Russell Brand earlier, you wouldn’t think he could protect a woman would you? Well, turns out he is a student of Krav Maga, a lethal Israeli martial arts form. "Yes, but he started this whole trend", argues @bradburton, and he is right!

Some say this whole emasculation of men is a form of expression, look, stop there. Men do not express themselves the way women do, well that USED to be the case anyway...

Last week, I went to look for a decent old fashioned MANLY shoes, instead I found pointed brogues, shoes so wide I could be mistaken for a clown, and gladiator shoes. *eyebrows raised* can someone actually explain to me why a man would want gladiator shoes in this day and time?? In fact don’t bother, the argument will only get worse. I was always taught ‘when you find yourself in a ditch, it is best to stop digging.’ Perhaps, that is exactly what men need to do.

Anytime now I expect mens brogues to come with heels...hang me when that happens...

Society needs to ask itself, are we evolving or are we digressing....THAT is the question...and please, what ever you do, DON'T say this is '21st century male' because most times you can't even explain what THAT is, let alone what a MAN is.

~ADIOS~