The idea of this post is to show that masculinity cannot be defined by religious doctrine, societal groupthink, or other means of external indoctrination. A man is a man by his own definition, and very rarely are any two such definitions identical. So please share how you define masculinity. What do you do and how you think that makes you proud to be you, despite what anybody else may think? We may not all have the same set of standards, but despite this, we manage to work together, live together, and yes, even become friends.

I'll start:

-A man puts others before himself, but knows when he needs to put himself first. -A man can say "fuck" in public while giving zero fucks, but knows how to speak civilly in appropriate situations. -A man wears clothes for function just as much as fashion. -Similarly, a man owns at least one suit. -There are very rare, yet appropriate instances in which it is right to strike a woman. -A man can bear moderate amounts of pain and discomfort with a smile on his face. -A man can prepare his own food and do his own laundry. -Most importantly, a man is capable of making decisions, both great and small based not on what his parents, friends, or religion think, but what he believes in his heart is right.