A Man Is.

A man is defined as a mature human male. Biologically a man has a penis, a man carries X and Y chromosomes, testicles that produce testosterone and sperm. Men are masculine, they don’t show emotions, they are dominant, they are a brute force, you’d know when a man walks in the room, his presence is overpowering, his voice is deep, he’s physically imposing, and he strikes fear in the heart of those who are not men. While putting fear in the hearts of boys, a man also serves as an inspiration to them. While the boys in the room dream to be as stronger than him if not stronger, the girls and the single women look at him, dreaming,  “I want that to be my husband one day”. Men are on top of the world, they run a patriarchal society and can take anything they ever wanted. What CAN’T a man do? That is the traditional view of man that has held society from further evolving.

As time goes by, new ideas and ideals emerge. The idea of gender being a social construct has come into play. This means that if one feels as if they are a male even if they are not biologically a male, they can identify themselves a male. This idea has sparked new conversations about how you can define a man other than biological characteristics. As generations have passed and millennials are now old enough to venture and find themselves the definition of man has undergone a reconstruction. This idea of gender being a social construct and millennials being honest with their emotions go hand and hand with creating a new definition of what it is to be a man. This new definition of being a man has less to do with physical presence, dominance and superiority.  

This new idea of what a man is rejects the traditional stereotypes of men being emotionally unavailable while promoting that strength doesn’t exclusively come in the form of physicality but, that being able to openly express yourself is the ability to be mentally and emotionally strong. This new idea of man is allowing boys to be open and become men who don’t need to be hyper masculine to hide them true selves in fear of being emasculated.

All in all, despite the new ideas of what a man is and the traditional ideas of what a man is there is a common ground to what defines a man. One of these ideas is strength, A man must be strong whether we are talking about emotional, mental and/or physical strength most can agree that a man is strong. Men take pride in who they are and what they do a man will claim who he is or wants to be and will stand by it. A man is well respected no matter if it is because he is a dominating presence or because he is his honest true self which many people will respect.

This is what a man is; strong, prideful and respected.  

This article was written by one of our featured journalists, Dwayne Carson.