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Sex and Relationships

Are Men Having an Identity Crisis?

By John DeVore, The Frisky. Posted July 15, 2008.


Overgrown frat boys, cheesy pick-up artists, overly sensitive cry-babies? What's going on with straight men's sexuality?
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Women are emotionally vacant pigs and men are emotionally unstable psychos.

Wait. That's not right.

But it is in so many ways. Welcome to the new millennium, boys and girls, where gender equality means "let's adopt the worst of each other's stereotypes." It's a madcap race to the bottom rung of the sexual identity ladder. Wheee!

Let me put it this way ... what do the following men have in common?

  • The overgrown frat boy whose hyper-masculine appearance and gorilla strut is a just vain, cosmetic affectation.
  • The sensitive good guy who cries easily, insists on looking you in the eyes while having sex and then never calls you back.
  • The coy pick-up artist who borrows his absurd Casanova identity from a book and then rehearses the snappy one-liners he uses to charm the la-a-a-dies.
  • The relationship blogger who, albeit devilishly handsome, doesn't know whether women want the frat beast, the sneering hipster, the Xeroxed charmer, the bad boy, or the nice guy, so he sometimes settles for the default setting, shell-shocked douchebag.

The answer? We're all high maintenance. We don't call, we call too much; we never reveal our emotions, we don't stop revealing our emotions; we're filthy slobs, we're precious metrosexuals; all we want is sex, we don't want it enough. You could tell us we're tough, burly, and macho, but we'll totes settle for you telling us we're pretty.

WTF?

I have female friends who tell me stories about the dude who will cry in public, or the guy who wants to snuggle after sex, when all she wants to do is rail and bounce.

Then, apparently, there are the multiple dudes who text constantly, and if you don't respond immediately, he goes crazy, becoming a text stalker, or verbally abusive, or a blubbering slob, or becomes verbally abusive blubbering slob who just won't stop texting.

How about this: a woman I know got pissed off because her date was forty-five minutes late because he couldn't decide on what shirt to wear, and what man stink to spray on. And every time she goes out with her home girls to the tacky masquerade balls we call clubs, this prissy dude texts her every five minutes for fear she's cheating on him.

And the truth is, she probably is sucking face with someone too!

What about the guy who insists you buy him a drink, or who snidely mocks your favorite Facebook pic, or who, and this one kills me, doesn't put out?

WTF, redux.

All fair you say. Centuries of patriarchal oppression, and dudes should be insecure, suffer from poor body image, fret and furrow and breathlessly wait by the phone waiting for her to call.

Heck, women have the right to juggle men, reject them for their physical flaws, and use them for sexual pleasure. They have a right to get hammered, and behave boorishly. To rate men on a scale, and to dehumanize them with nicknames like Mr. Big, or Super Preppy, or Captain-Needs-A-Loofa.

Well, we're all in this identity crisis together. Let's get it together people.

Me? I choose not to live in a world of women-haters and man-haters. The haters are like Tinkerbell (sorry, Tinkerbell, but then again, you were never the best example of a modern woman, just a bitter little stalker) -- if you don't clap, they will die. So stop clapping.

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See more stories tagged with: women, men, relationships, gender stereotypes

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I'm definitely the last guy minus the blogging.
Posted by: mb656614 on Jul 15, 2008 7:08 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is a good article.

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good article
Posted by: synx on Jul 15, 2008 8:57 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
*claps* oh wait--shit

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Wierd
Posted by: Love Me, I'm a Liberal on Jul 16, 2008 5:47 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What are trying to say? I'm not sure if this is backlash aimed at the feminists or a critique aimed at the patriarchy for trying to force gender roles.

Article needs more direction, it's haphazard and I don't think the author knows what he wants to rail against.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Wierd Posted by: Katie Marie
» RE: Wierd Posted by: planet doomed
What ?
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Jul 16, 2008 7:02 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What was the point of this rambling diatribe?

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» RE: What ? Posted by: Crazy H
» What identity crisis? Posted by: JoshuaLudd
That's ONE
Posted by: Crazy H on Jul 16, 2008 10:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
A pro-male article in Alternet, in "Sex and Relationships" no less. I'll be damned!

Yeah, it's true. We were designed to be killer apes - and that's just not acceptable in our society. We're having just as much trouble adapting as are women, we just don't get near as much air-time.

So hell yes, let's figure out - together - how we're going to make society work for a bunch of animals who weren't designed to be a society in the first place.

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Ah, sexism, alive and well....
Posted by: rickiey on Jul 17, 2008 4:55 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Here's a hint: Stereotyping is NOT a good thing, nor a progressive ideal.

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This is the dating scene you get...
Posted by: Farasien on Jul 17, 2008 5:30 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...when people-of both genders- are told, and follow through on the idea they have to give mixed messages on everything, act (there is a reason they call it that) a certain way or look a certain way to 'find somebody'.

Here's a thought... If you're tired of people being disingenuous, flaky,idiotic and intolerable, then don't be disingenuous, flaky, intolerable idiotic yourself. Try... being genuine, honest, decent and flexible!

I was in the dating scene for years with the same issues, and the instant I got tired of the shit, I said, hey, why not try being a real person? I did, and less than 2 months later, what do ya know, but I found the wonderful woman who is now my wife. One of the reasons people HATE politicians is because of how full of shit, disingenuous and flaky they are (just look at how Obama is starting to turn out!). If you don't wanna be seen as intolerable, if you want to date a real person and have an actual relationship rather than just have a one-night stand, stop being intolerable and start trying to be genuine. It really is that simple.

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A Peacock's Rant
Posted by: jehu83 on Jul 18, 2008 12:09 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Ah oppressive patriarchies. When life began, millions of years ago, thats all there was. Did you know? Isnt that amazing? Jacob had four wives because he was a total dick! (Not because he was a shepherd and there were fewer men than women in his Canaan locale.) What can I say, chicks dig a-holes! It always worked for me... all kinds of girls with mean fathers flock. My point is that we've never had global capitalism before and despite what we want, it changes our relationships (exhibit a: high priced call girl relationships, are they so weird). Just because there are stories of your drunken Catholic grandpa being mean to your grandma doesnt mean patriarchies always ruled. Women have had varied roles and rights in civic history, and this time is different than others in a lot of ways, so don't worry about being like or not-like. But don't think you're biology won't get in the way of your own vision for the ideal sex life. Anyway, walking around like a badass with fashion sense is clearly the way to go (exhibit b: Clive Owen). So burn some testosterone but do it with style. Come on boys, homogony and pretend romanticism is so over-rated its painful. Your not a princess. Your not a prince. Do your best to not be a frog.

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