Is it sexist to say “man-up”

Oishiio42 · 2020-11-17T07:01:12+00:00

"Man up" absolutely is sexist.

"Man-up" means "because you are a man your problems are trivial, and it's fair to expect you to solve them independent of support"

It's used to dismiss problems that are not trivial and often require community support - such as unplanned fatherhood, single fatherhood, financial struggles, mental health, relationship problems, being ill, or showing emotion.

If the problem truly is trivial and the man in question is acting immature, the correct phrase is "grow up" not "man up".

Fluffy_marshmello · 2020-11-17T05:59:47+00:00

It definitely is sexist. Think about what the term man up means. It means to stop doing something someone is seen as unmanly and a rough definition of sexism is to generalise a sex in a negative way

mikesteane · 2020-11-17T06:07:13+00:00

How many men does it take to clean a house?

None, it's a woman's job.

The joke is sexist because it apportions a certain task to one gender simply because they are that gender.

The phrase "man up" does the same thing.

MITTENQ · 2020-11-17T05:59:49+00:00

I don't mind it but it's a little cringe to unironicly tell someone to man up.

northseaview · 2020-11-17T06:33:36+00:00

As with many matters in gender relations, the expression is obviously sexist, but its use is not necessarily a bad thing. That depends on context. That the expression is short hand for a set of behaviours we expect of one gender and not of the other reflects a harmful sexism towards both genders, particularly males.

Masculine and feminine traits can be harmful or beneficial to the individual or to their community depending also on context.

Manning up is often a positive trait, in that it encourages the resistance to minor inconveniences or pain to pursue a more important goal, and this can clearly have benefits to the individual and the community. Where it is harmful to the individual is when it used to subordinate their pain or suffering for the benefit of others, such as military, servitude or exploitation. Or in gender relationships to keep their pain to themselves so as not to distress their family or appear unattractive. It may be that on occasion an individual believes that their sacrifice is worth it for the benefit of others, but often it is social or economic coercion and propaganda.

AldoBane · 2020-11-17T08:53:22+00:00

I’m not sure either way but there could be an easy way to find a universal phrase that applies to everyone.

I’ve heard playful alternatives referring to a persons “gutsack” which seems to be a gender neutral term.. (everybody has a gut, and it’s in an organ sack of sorts lol)

I.E. -How about you get the gutsack to deal with your own issues?

-Can you gutsack up and fix that while I fix (x)?

Edit: Autocorrect

2020-11-17T06:10:56+00:00

yes it is, especially if it used when men try coming forward about any problems they have/ have had (eg: domestic violence)

manofbadadvice · 2020-11-17T06:14:56+00:00

Me: I just feel emotionally numb constantly and I don’t know what to do abou-

Unspecific Human: Man up.

Me: [VIOLENCE]

2020-11-17T07:55:25+00:00

It's not only sexist, but a suppression technique called victim-blaming. On top of that, you're belittling someone likely in need of help, essentially kicking someone when they're down. Saying "man up" is despicable.

Ok-Rush-5486 · 2020-11-17T06:05:11+00:00

It's not okay. It implies men need to be manly which is not true, gender roles are stupid.

Cynotral29 · 2020-11-17T07:28:59+00:00

Depends.

accidental_me · 2020-11-17T09:14:04+00:00

Pretty much all societies want to ensure that men learn to be willing to make sacrifices for their family, clan, gang, country or what have you. Men must learn to become honorable, which often means being disposable if needed. Thus, men must be forced inside a strict role.

In many societies, particularly the historical ones, there were institutionalized initiation rites that were painful or scary or both. The aim was to turn boys into men, honorable men. You had to learn that being a man means setting aside your own feelings and endure punishment for a greater good.

What remains in the modern world is seldom anything dramatic, mostly just symbolic gestures and sayings like "man up".

Being honorable can be good or it can be bad. Furthermore, it can be good for you or it can be good for somebody else but not you. So, telling somebody to man up can also be good or bad. There is no one way to look at it. In a philosophical sense you can emphasize virtues or rules.

Where I live, "man up" is used mostly in a joking tone these days. I'm quite sure that it's no more commonplace to tell boys that "boys don't cry".

But the need to teach boys and men to become "honorable" has not totally disappeared. We just have hidden the teaching methods in even more obscure language - like the feminist language demanding this or that from men. Media plays an important role, too, particularly movies and games. Perhaps that's why there is no need to explicitly tell boys to man up is that we men know what is expected from us by other men and, perhaps, particularly by women.

And in a safe world men don't need to be so extremely manly anymore. That must mean something, too.

2020-11-17T09:21:29+00:00

Yes, You need to man-up if you wanna survive in this world.

Affectionate-War-347 · 2020-11-17T11:55:09+00:00

There is a reason no one ever says "woman up"

escanor_over9000 · 2020-11-17T13:42:10+00:00

Man up is sexist because it is used to put men in there place to not show any feelings except anger and happiness but saying ladies first is also sexist because you make the man stay behind and the woman is forced to go first like on the titanic so let's not say either.

ApprehensiveMail8 · 2020-11-17T14:26:34+00:00

Fact acknowledged. Although someone saying "man-up" may certainly be sexist, it is not an inherently sexist phrase. If misandry is definitely intended a man (who may, by definition, be a woman) should use a phrase such as "grow a pair".

It is improper English to hear or use the phrase "man-up" in a gender specific way. The etymology of the phrase "man-up" likely did not involve a gender-based definition of the word "man".

The word "man" has multiple definitions, and most do not denote gender. This is true not only in English, but also German and Swedish.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/man?s=t

https://angelikasgerman.co.uk/5-ways-to-translate-the-german-word-man/

https://blogs.transparent.com/swedish/how-to-use-man-in-swedish/

In early and middle English, when the phrase "man up" was coined , the gendered definition of "man" did not even exist. A female man was a womb-man and a male was a weapond-man or were-man.

The phrase "man up" is most likely derived from the use of the word "man" as a verb which means to work. "To man the ship" means to work on a ship, etc. So telling someone to man-up means they should do their job.

JoeSmith1907 · 2020-11-18T00:23:58+00:00

I dunno because I can't think of a definition of sexism that makes any sense. Anyway why does it matter whether it's sexist if it serves a purpose. By asking the question you're looking at it from the female frame.

your_pal_crow · 2020-11-18T14:42:17+00:00

It's not, people are just looking for a way to avoid becoming a better man.

0bamallamadrama · 2020-11-17T10:41:46+00:00

CoolDEpot · 2020-11-17T12:33:55+00:00

It depends, on a society where gender roles are respected its not.
On a society that removes all gender roles from women but still pretends men to follow their roles it is.
Its the double standar.
If women were also told to ''women up'' then ''man up'' would not be sexist.

H0rny_tomato · 2020-11-17T13:46:18+00:00

Not really, but i don't like it, it implies that my problems are not important, male or female

trash62 · 2020-11-17T16:59:09+00:00

It is sexist.

Man up always implies making a sacrifice of some sort, or concession. It is an offshoot of disposability, you "man up" and take the blame, accept the bill, take the bullet for, accept the responsibility.

2020-11-17T23:52:21+00:00

Definitely

drugsNsymphonies · 2020-11-18T00:31:34+00:00

So if I say, "Woman-up" that won't be sexist by your standards?

2020-11-19T02:01:29+00:00

It depends.

If a woman is telling a man to "man up" then it is most definitely sexist and is usually said by the woman to coerce a man into doing something that benefits her.

If it is said by a man then it can convey two meanings. Firstly a man might say it to achieve validation from women around him. In this context "man up" is sexist

However, some men might use the term "man up" quite reasonably as a tool to overcome adversity when in discussion with other men.

Ok-Rush-5486 · 2020-11-17T07:05:05+00:00

nah. sticks and stones and all that. you can also tell someone to "woman up" (even I say it occasionally), because it means to become a better person, to be higher, to be a higher man, man up.

Title	Is it sexist to say “man-up”
Author	drugsNsymphonies
Upvotes	24
Comments	78
Date	November 17, 2020 5:57 AM UTC (5 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/jvnrch/is_it_sexist_to_say_manup/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/is-it-sexist-to-say-man-up.840593 https://theredarchive.com/post/840593

Comments