Hm, But so anti - PC! My wife currently does not work outside the home, except for managing the extra care her mother needs.

During certain times she has worked outside the home, most notably while I was recovering from cancer. That is what equality means to me, everyone in the family doing what it takes as a family to survive.

As a DAV, I can no longer be in the military, but I do work extensively with the Boy Scouts.

Cassy,

The Real Men aren't in hiding. We're busy fighting wars, stomping out forest fires, protecting the down-trodden, feeding the poor etc. In our spare time we're taking care of our families, teaching our kids values, and loving our woman.

We just don't have the time or inclination to crow about ourselves on the street corner or some seedy talk show.

In those few moments we have to ourselves, we clean our guns and read Wizbang.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3CmvDQK3k2w

I'm perfectly willing to let the metro-sexuals and others alone and allow the adults to administer the business of living. SOMEONE has to protect the little lambs, why not a bona-fide MALE?

#2 Mattnu
You are absolutely correctly. All the real men are already spoken for and quietly going about our lives.

Unfortunately this leaves all of the weenie boys out in the open for everyone else to see and we are judged by their example.

My wife (29 years!) has been "just" a stay at home mom for most of those years. However, I guarantee you that she worked harder while the kids were growing up than I ever did. She now works 2 days per week at a local pre-school - not because she has to, but because she loves the kids.

Has our life been filled with exotic vacations and big TV? Absolutely not. We sacrificed so she could be home with the kids.

Well guess what - we are now empty nesters (have I told you empty nest is great?) and we can afford some of those luxuries we did without.

Yes, the real men are out there by the millions. We just are quietly making sure that our women are taken care of. It is not just my generation either, I can quickly name 10 young men actively serving in the role of provider or "head of the household" for their families - including my own son.

As an executive, I can tell you real men make a difference in business too. These are the men that work day in and day out and quietly end up being executives some day.

Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. didn't have much use for guns; was Charlton Heston more of a man than they were?

Well, I think there\'s been enough of that. MAN UP, guys. Grow a pair and be willing to express unpopular opinions because you know that they\'re right.

Your right! I was holding back on expressing my opinion that you are a complete and total moron. But no more! Cassey your pathetic attempts to reason are a disgrace to chimpanzees everywhere.

Wow, feels good to man up... Now stop writing this drivel, get back in the kitchen, and make some cookies. I\'m not sure why your husband lets you run loose like that. I\'ll have a talk with him about the rule of thumb.

I believe I qualify under your guidelines for a "real man". I've done what it takes for the past 20 years so my can stay at home and be a mom (her choice).

Just ask my family or co-workers about my opinons. Good column.

puzzled:

Guns and being a man have nothing to do with each, but to set the record straight ...

Ghandi in his autobiography stated: "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."

Martin Luther King in his autobiography wrote about giving up guns and accepting the possibility of his own death:

After the bombings, many of the officers of my church and other trusted friends urged me to hire a bodyguard and armed watchmen for my house. When my father came to town, he concurred with both of these suggestions. I tried to tell them that I had no fears now and consequently needed no weapons for protection. This they would not hear. They insisted that I protect the house and family, even if I didn't want to protect myself. In order to satisfy the wishes of these close friends and associates, I decided to consider the question of an armed guard. I went down to the sheriff's office and applied for a license to carry a gun in the car; but this was refused.

Meanwhile I reconsidered. How could I serve as one of the leaders of a nonviolent movement and at the same time use weapons of violence for my personal protection? Coretta and I talked the matter over for several days and finally agreed that arms were no solution. We decided then to get rid of the one weapon we owned. We tried to satisfy our friends by having floodlights mounted around the house, and hiring unarmed watchmen around the clock. I also promised that I would not travel around the city alone.

I was much more afraid in Montgomery when I had a gun in my house. When I decided that I couldn't keep a gun, I came face-to-face with the question of death and I dealt with it. From that point on, I no longer needed a gun nor have I been afraid. Had we become distracted by the question of my safety we would have lost the moral offensive and sunk to the level of our oppressors.

Many individuals in the Civil Rights movement were armed and with good reason: there were plenty of people willing to kill to maintain the status quo. That MLK was willing to die for the movement is a tremendous act of courage. However, he was very well known, and he did have lots of security around him - presumably unarmed.

And, of course, he was assassinated.

Real men don't tell the world, look at how tough and reliable I am. They just go out and do it.

The thing that annoys me the most and I think has a big impact on the perception that there are not enough real men is all of the doofus dad tv shows. It seems that men are the last group that it is ok to make fun of so it is easier to make a comedy that has a doofus dad instead of a ditzy mom. How many shows can you name that the dad character is cast as the voice of reason and reliability?

Now, I can take a joke as well as anyone but at some point this same theme gets pretty old and tired.

I'm sure you have hairy armpits, why don't you do it.

Nice thought but why bother. If we don't man up we are "pussified". If we do man up we are pigs. Either way we are labeled as stupid, vapid and ignorant. Why in the world would I "man up"?

Having said that, I spent Wednesday evening at the range with my youngest daughter, I'm a retired Marine, I work out seven days a week and provide the financial support for my wife and I and have done so for the last 32 years.

And yeah, we're empty nesters too. I keep waiting for that "Empty Nest Syndeome" to hit but so far jumping into the ragtop and heading down the road has managed to beat it back.

Hmm, I'd love to man up. Better go ask the wife if it's OK.

Greg, you make an excellent point that annoys me NO END - back in our day, we had strong father figures on the TV Shows that we watched. Now, the mothers all seem like sarcastic b*tches and the dads are portrayed as complete buffoons. Meanwhile, the kids are running free and always outsmarting the parents.

My husband and I are careful about the shows our kids are watching, and I wish there were more people who felt the same - maybe the networks would get the picture and give us some more good, old-fashioned values.

I was going to comment on my "manliness"... Until I remembered I've been commenting on the "American Idol" posts. ;)

Re DuToit's rant, I wonder if there's a corresponding rant by a woman criticizing the lack of real women nowadays? Cos as much as guys *do* need to 'man up,' I see plenty of women who need to grow up as well. (Present company excluded, of course.)

Just want to chime in, because I have a real man at home -- which is where I work right now.

Best part about being a stay at home mom, besides the honor of being Houston Control for his career, is being fresh and frisky and ready for fun when he is. Men need and want lots of sex, and when I was working full time I was so darned tired I couldn't stay awake a lot of times. Now I am fully engaged in the family and have lots of energy. I take care of him and he takes care of me. You know what I'm talkin' about.

This post makes me cry so hard that I need to smack my bitch up, chew some Red Man and drink a case of PBRs just to find my Y chromosome.

Real men don't have a "bitch" to smack (dog breeders excepted), only cry when O'l Yeller dies, and know right where they're Y chromosone is.

My wife sent this to me the the other day. I think it suits the post:

The husband had just finished reading a new book entitled, "YOU CAN BE THE MAN OF YOUR HOUSE".

He stormed to his wife in the kitchen and announced, "From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is Law.

You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.

After dinner, you are going to go upstairs with me and we will have the kind of sex that I want.

Afterwards, you are going to draw me a bath so I can relax.

You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe. Then, you will massage my feet and hands.

Then tomorrow, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?

"The wife replied, "The fuckin' funeral director would be my first guess."....

This means they want and need a living, breathing embodiment of values like honor, courage, and integrity. They want someone who will be strong even in the toughest of situations. They need someone they can feel safe and protected with.

I think that describes every child's relationship with their mommy. Now a days men are looking for life partners, not dependent bedmates.

Back in the days of "real men" a man with any reasonable job could support the whole family. Taxes were low and married men were paid more than single men, and a lot more than women, all for the same job. Having another kid was justification for asking for and receiving a raise. Wages were based as much on a man's needs as on their value.

Back in those days America was still a Christian nation with high moral values and by far the strongest economy in the world. Made in America meant quality. Yes, those seem like good times when men could be men. When a man was the king of his home.

Of course, back in those days some men would beat their kids and their wife and no one interfered. Men could buy and sell property without their wife's consent or knowledge. Men could harass women at work and laugh it off.

When you say men should Man up, I say, sure just as soon as we return to the times when men could be men and not go to jail for it. What I suspect you really mean is that men should Slave up and be their wife's servant. That's what dreams are for, to give you what you can't or don't really have. When a husband says "sweet dreams honey" that's what he's talking about.

Man UP?

Most of us are already there, we just don't get the press we used to. Thats Okay, we don't need the spotlight.

Man up...we need to nut up and drop kick the zeta males outta town.

My apologies to all the 20-30 year old women looking for a good man. My three daughters have taken the best three off the market.

In all seriousness, I have three strong-willed, opinionated daughters who managed to find MEN to marry. I consider myself one of the luckiest mothers-in-law ever.

I might mention that the fathers of these three MEN are MEN also. I've told all of them how much I appreciate their sons.

Of course I agree completely....in theory. Yet I've learned a lesson.
I moved to Ohio to marry my wife when I was 42. Never had children but she had a 4 year old. SHE had a great stable job and I was out looking. I wound up working part time while she worked full time. This was a blessing in that I got to bond with my new stepson AND learn how to be a parent. Little did I know what the future held.
My younger wife came down with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. My lack of full time work became a blessing and I was able to care for her and keep our 5 year old boy shielded from the scare to her health we lived through. I cherish the memories I have as a stay at home dad........and I know our boy does too. I really became Mr. Mom.
I think Dr. Laura is a bitch but I agree with her mantra of sacrifice.....I stayed home with our boy (and have been recently home due to a layoff) and it has made his life and his mom's more fulfilling. God made the rules, which I agree with in this thread, but rules were made to be broken.

WE are all over here...

http://artofmanliness.com/

This seems to be a theme of the past few weeks... I wonder why?

What does "Man-up" have to do with beer, beating your kids, treating your wife as a slave, or any of the other idiocy suggested in some of these comments?

Man-up means take care of your duties and responsibilities. The first of which is to provide for and take care of your family, not dictate terms to them. It also means you don't run around crowing your accomplishments and 'manliness'. If you feel that you have to advertise that you're a man, guess what? You're not.

Been married 20 years. Early on my wife worked, often more then I did when I was in school. As soon as she didn't HAVE to work, she quit. Now she works a couple hours a day at school because she enjoys it. She's considering going back to school and maybe going back to work. Or maybe not. Either way, that's fine too.

Marriage isn't a competition and you don't keep score. I'm not particularly religious, but I do recall something in the Bible about cherishing your wife. That doesn't mean I'm the parent and she's the child.

Marriage isn't a competition and you don't keep score. I'm not particularly religious, but I do recall something in the Bible about cherishing your wife. That doesn't mean I'm the parent and she's the child.Posted by Mike

From one Mike to another....I am a right wing Christian with a wife of like mind. I am turning 50 soon and applaud your comments here. With age comes wisdom...wish it were as easy as Pleasantville. Or as black and white.

I gotta say...it's hard to "MAN UP" on the web.

REAL men are built with the VALUES, CHARACTER, and LEADERSHIP qualities that makes them MEN.
More of the actions speak louder than words type of guys.
Debating those qualities can be a waste of time simply because...opinions are like a'holes..etc. etc.

Now in everyday life one may come across a load mouth femi-nazi, and I have been called a "male chauvinist pig" several times, much to my amusement.
Although it wasn't ME who stormed off frustrated in ANY of those occasions, so I guess I did "MAN UP" when I had to.

The thing is most of the time REAL men don't have to "man up" because lefty femi-nazi types keep their distance from men like us, and gravitate to the "back street boys" kinda guy.

To be sure us REAL MEN are out here doing just fine...navigating our way through the sludge of metro-sexual, femi-nazi, and liberal PC asshats in general.

Knightbrigade.......
If someone were to ask me what you said at 10:26 pm on May 1, what would I tell them?

Manning-up essentially means taking care of your business. Whether it is at your job, around the house, as a lover,a companion or parent just take care of your business.

Take care of your business and the rest will take care of itself.

infidel............

Tell them I said basically-- REAL MEN the focus in this story by the author/Cassy are out here doing just fine in the real world.
Just because WE/REAL MEN don't debate in circle jerks with PC femi-nazi types online doesn't mean we have ceased to exist.

CLEAR enough infidel??

"...men need to butch up."

And I think you need a "butch" boyfriend! Or girlfriend.

"As I've said before, I think you see an overwhelming number of real men flocking to military or law enforcement lifestyles."-cassy

"Lifestyles"??? As in Stylin'?

One bizarre post. I can't stop looking at it. Kudos.

P.S. The US army takes grrrlz. Think about it.

Way to stroke men for 90% of the article so you can get agreement on tha