this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023
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Comradeship // Freechat

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Gendered question, I know. If you don't identify as a man, please feel free to answer with whatever you want. I meant to post it in the Men's Lib sub but somehow it always bugs for me.

Let's spill the tea lads

I like painting my nails.

I like gardening and I take great pride in my plants and upcoming indoor veggie and herb garden.

I dance when I go out.

I like bright colors.

I like candles that smell nice.

I like flowers.

I like Harry Styles.

I like crocheting.

Whatever you like, be proud of it. There is no such thing as liking something unmanly. Nothing can harm your manliness. Do what you want.

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[–] pyska@lemmygrad.ml 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I think the term "manly" has been so polluted. I don't think there is nothing "unmanly" with:

  • Loving nature.
  • Loving your neighbor (even Jesus said to).
  • Loving culture (and accepting other's culture).
  • Showing emotion (except for you narcissists who use this as an excuse for abuse. Fuck you).
  • Dancing.
  • Going outside just to feel the wind gently blowing your hair and caressing your face.

We are capable of very complex modes of existing. There is no reason to keep being the same hateful person every day. It takes courage to go out of your confort zone. It takes courage to be a "man". Whatever it is that word means. Love you all. <3

Edit: Guys, are comments like this valuable? On Reddit I felt the need to write this way, but everyone seems so chill here...

[–] DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We are very chill here. I hope this post can show the new people what Lemmygrad can be as well, a fun and supporting community. There's no need to hide who you are here, so feel free to type whichever way you want.

[–] pyska@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago
[–] communistcapy@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think anyone should feel the need to quantify their actions into a specific gender.

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[–] Alpacario@lemmygrad.ml 16 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I love adorable animals, I'll squeal with delight whenever I see a video of one. Alpacas are my favorite.

[–] CannotSleep420@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)
[–] DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] CannotSleep420@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago

Girl, actually. She touches more grass than I do.

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[–] DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Alpacas are great. I rented this tiny house in the woods this one time and it had a small animal farm (commie reference) next to it. I woke up next to the alpacas everyday and I had some coffee while they kept eating grass non stop.

[–] Alpacario@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Sounds like heaven, you're making me jealous. I used to volunteer in my city's zoo every summer and on lunch break I got to go to the petting zoo for the alpacas.

[–] aidnic@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Why didn’t you teach the Alpacas communist theory when you lived there? smh

[–] Kirbywithwhip1987@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Reptiles are my favorite and every time I see some lizard or tiny snake, I let them crawl on me

[–] CannotSleep420@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When I visited Disney World as a kid I loved the little lizards running around the resorts. Those lizards are the only good thing about Florida.

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[–] RedClouds@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I probably show a lot more emotion then is stereotypical. I was on swim team in high school. In my heterosexual relationship I was the one that really wanted a child first. If my wife made enough money I would absolutely be a stay at home dad if we needed a stay at home parent (We don't need any parent to stay at home thankfully right now, the way childcare is working out). I go to therapy and actually find it useful. I guess for the typical "male" things I do power lifting (Swoletariat FTW), but I really didn't get into to that until later in life anyway, and I don't follow any of the prototypical lifters.

[–] pyska@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 year ago

Bro, therapy is so underrated. Growing up I was made to believe only crazy people needed it. But like, we are not perfect. And talking to someone who was able to call me out on my BS (in a good way) and show me my blindspots was such an eye opener. Would recommend.

[–] Anatolianin@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I like gardening

This is seriously considered unmanly? Smh

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[–] Kultronx@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 year ago

Tons of things like others have said. Gardening, dancing, fashion, romance, R&B, Opera, growing my hair out, wine, healthy food. I don't really even consider these unmanly, but I know many do for a cis hetero man. Other than choosing clothes that fit my body type, my gender has no influence on the things I do or choices I make.

So many things really. I’ve never had any issue with identifying as a man and have always considered myself straight or whatever but I have also always enjoyed “feminine” things without any shame.

I love dancing, fashion, home decorating, really any sort of “domestic” stuff I can get into like cooking or gardening or whatever. I’ve always been into feminine sorta music artists like Lana Del Rey and what not. I wear lots of pinks and other colors and have some feminine sorta tattoos like butterflies and such.

I’ve also worn a dress and done up my makeup a couple of times which was a fun experience. You definitely appreciate how long it can take women to get ready to go out once you try it all yourself lol. I’m honestly glad society doesn’t expect that sorta thing of me (hair, makeup, nails ect) cause I could easily see myself getting very into it and that shit costs lotta time and money.

I don’t see why any man can’t just enjoy the shit that they are drawn to or interested in.

[–] CannotSleep420@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I've had a bad case of anhedonia the past few years, so I don't find myself enjoying many things, manly or otherwise. However, I can say some "manly" things I don't like.

I never cared for professional sports. I could maybe get it if the teams actually had ties to the cities they're in, but trading players between teams baffles me. Then you get to fantasy sports, where people basically just track numbers and bet. People tell me sports teams are a great way to find common ground with strangers, but all I can see are brands being used to shove ads in peoples' faces and encourage people to gamble.

[–] RedFortress@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Same, all the guys I've met are crazy about sports and FIFA games. When I was in high school, I would skip playing football during Phys Ed and watch what the girls were doing instead.

[–] absentthereaper@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The only sports games I ever cared for was the stuff that came out under EA BIG. This FIFA, 2k, Madden shit honestly just gets on my nerves, like, I'm not gonna sit here and front like I'm just this flower-loving, herb-growing hippie with a backpacker's composition book-- if I was squadding up with the boys in meatspace, we were playing streetball, or basically modified rugby or smth full-contact and full-friendly-disrespect-- and shit like NBA Street, NFL Street, SSX, it felt like it nailed the fantasy of what we were doing before the streetlights buzzed on.

I miss games like that. Low-realism streetball, super-low-realism skating, honestly; I think our media's fascination, fixation, and bordering-on-fetish for realism has only really amplified the toxic narrow-mindedness those spaces could grow.

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[–] absentthereaper@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I write poetry, garden in the spring and summer, and enjoy the likes of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Tetris; all of which it puzzles me how those games got classified as 'girly'. Like mf, I'd like to see YOU manage a hundred lines at TGM 20G with steadily-rising garbage lines; see how ya do

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

🥁🥁🪇

(Imagine the maracas are cymbals.)

Poetry is a strange one. I also write some and when I mention it I get the strangest looks and have had some awful responses.

I usually refer them to Akala when I hear the gendered shit. If you haven't heard of him, he's a British rapper. He wrote a great book about race. He works with the Royal Shakespeare Company (I think) and goes around schools putting Shakespeare to a beat and explaining how e.g. Tupac rapped in iambic pentameter. He has videos on YouTube and his Fire in the Booth rap is great.

I want to say keep rhyming, Reggaelater Demoman, but my poems don't always rhyme and yours might not, either. Keep writing!

[–] absentthereaper@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

My problem is I can't not write rhymes; and it didn't always used to be that way. In elementary, thanks to the teacher who passed along that proclivity to the whole damn class, my bestie was always the one who could write fluent, metered bars; and I just sorta e.e. cummings'd my shit. Liked using the formatting of the lines for aesthetic purposes, but never really had a handle for fitting rhymes to how I was feeling.

...Then I started dipping into UK grime(talm like, Kano, Skepta, Dizzee Rascal, Jme, Tempa T, and them), used that as a springboard to start swimming through the kinds of music my family wanted to keep me away from. (Ironically, my own damn culture, or what shoulda been.) On the other side of a crippling clipping, JPEGMAFIA, Saul Williams, and Stormzy addiction, though, all of my stuff comes out rhyming nowadays. My compositition book looks deadass like a backpacker's lmfao

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[–] ProbablyKaffe@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I wear and have a lot of pink things. I have a few pairs of flower earrings. I like cute things. If I drink I prefer fruity cocktails.

"Mmm this straight-up hard liquor tastes so good"

  • Liars
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[–] swiftessay@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm old so when I was a teenager the Spice Girls were on top of the charts.

I would blast Spice Girls songs on my stereo and sing along. I don't know how it was around the world but here in Brazil it was heavily considered "girl music" in the 90s and if anyone from school saw me doing that they would heavily bully me and call me gay or whatever.

Luckily for me I lived very far away from school, and also discovered myself as bisexual 20 years later soooo... call me gay as much as you like. :)

[–] ergifruit@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

i never saw gardening as something "unmanly", but that might be because i live in a semi-rural area. everybody and their paw-paw gardens, just about. i always paint my nails, and sometimes i'll wear makeup. i see other people mentioning cooking and sewing, but i think that's very dependant on where you're at. my dad, brothers, uncles, male cousins all cook and sew. i always thought it was weird if men couldn't do that; in context of "traditional" Western masculinity, doesn't that mean youre weak and cant provide if you can't cook for your family to keep them fed, or can't fix their clothes to keep them warm? though embroidery is considered feminine, and i like to practice that. i'm really bad at it, but it counts!

[–] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Women were forcefully relegated to housework only, so things like cooking and sewing were all that women could do if they didn’t want to go insane or be beat.

So by extension, in many places those tasks are considered unmanly.

[–] Tak@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

It's weird but as soon as a man can make good money doing it, it's no longer women's work. Programming? Nope. Masculine now. No women allowed. Cooking? Nope. You're a Chef now. No women in the real kitchen. Transcribing? Yes, good men of the cloth, women can't transcribe. Eww gross typewriters, women's work.

Anything to perpetuate that women don't get independence or equality.

[–] Whisipp@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I like doing skincare and facial scrubs and fancy soaps and such (I do wish it wasn't as tarnished by consumerism but I've got no other alternatives)- and apparently I've gotten too good at it because strangers mistake me for a girl sometimes.

[–] DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Same. Skincare routine for men is underrated. Skincare after shaving is still skincare, guys. Apply creams, moisturizer, face masks etc. Your skin will thank you.

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[–] commiewolf@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 1 year ago (5 children)

soaps/shampoos/conditioners marketed at women are always somehow better than the "Badass" manly ones by Adidas or whatever.

[–] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 10 points 1 year ago

The scent of Lavender VS The scent of WARCRIMES

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[–] KommandoGZD@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Looking at this thread and how all kinds of farming and landscaping in my experience are overwhelmingly male dominated profession it's probably not that extraordinary of an answer - but yeah, plants and gardening are awesome. I'm a big sucker for well built parks and botanical gardens too, not just forrests, meadows and fields.

Idk why but since this spring I really grew to love flowers as well. Still not big on cut, indoor flowers, but flowering bushes, trees and all kinds of plants this time of the year just brighten up your day heaps. They add so much colour, life and smell to even the most boring parts of cities.

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[–] ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love knitting and sewing. It’s very relaxing and I love seeing what I make! Even better if I do a good enough job to wear it!

I sleep basically every night with a stuffed animal that I received from a very close and important friend. (He’s also pink so it’s even more “unmanly”)

Gardening is so fun! My cucumbers and tomatoes are coming along so well! (My watermelons not so much, only 1 of 4 have survived due to deer)

Cleaning is very fun to me. Seeing things become clean is very rewarding, especially if I’m doing it for someone else close to me.

Cooking is a very high interest of mine! Particularly baking!

Painting my nails is also very fun and I can’t wait to do that more, as that’s sadly a dangerous thing to do where I live.

Kissing other guys. This is either extreme manly in the eyes of the Greeks and Spartans, or extremely unmanly in the current western purview.

I do funny little dances when I hear songs I like playing in the store.

[–] absentthereaper@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I sleep basically every night with a stuffed animal that I received from a very close and important friend. (He’s also pink so it’s even more “unmanly”)

Okay, I love this; bc my partners have made a habit of getting me plushes related to the games in my library; and right now on my computer desk, there's a Nookling, a Protoss probe, and a crocheted Cacodemon stacked atop each other like a totem pole of programmer's rubber ducks. (I've even used them that way to clear some of my appdev classes.)

[–] acabjones@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Domestic tasks like cooking, washing dishes, folding laundry. It's something real I can do to make me and my partner's lives keep going smooth, plus they're great opportunities for either podcasts or mindfulness.

[–] roux@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

This is me lol. My wife and I really don't have gender rolls as a married couple but I ended up being the one that cooks and cleans for the most part. She hates it and I actually like it so maybe she lucked out. 😂

[–] Kirbywithwhip1987@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well I painted my sister's nails, but not mine and I watched some animes that can be considered 'just for girls'.

And I dance a lot but I had no idea it's considered ''unmanly''.

[–] CohortCzort@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Gardening and generally caring for plants is so rewarding. Also something I enjoy

I also like charm bracelets and non precious jewely.

And dressing in flowy flowery clothing

[–] 201dberg@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Idk what constitutes many and non manly anymore. I guess growing plants and gardening type stuff is not "manly"? I have a lot of amaryllis flowers that bloom every year. I have 4 that I raised from seeds from my very first one. They bloomed a year ago. It takes 3 years of growth minimum before the bloom. They have some huge flowers. I have like 12 different ones now. 4 varieties. The first one is a pure red and I saved it. My mom got it as a gift for Xmas and after it bloomed she just threw the bulb out. I found it and repotted it. It bloomed on valentine's day. I call it my plant GF.

We also have moonflowers that grow all around our house. The local bees love them and I like going out in the evenings mid to late summer when they are all open cause they smell amazing.

I also like fermenting foods. Idk if that's considered not manly or anything but I like it and it's fun to me.

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I think a lot of the distinction comes down to marketing.

Things have changed in my lifetime. My granddad, for instance, knew how to sew and was proud of it. He was a soldier and soldiers who can't do art least minor repairs in the field aren't useful. He probably wasn't embroidering flowers on his kit bag but it's the same skill.

I remember wanting to learn to sew in school because of stories like that but almost all the other boys tried their hardest not to enjoy textiles class. It's still gendered reasoning, but it seems like there used to be gendered reasons to do any hobby but nowadays it's 'just for girls' or 'just for boys'. Immersed in the literature that I read, I'm always shocked to still see things sold in pink for girls and blue for boys.

There seems to be a trend in treating e.g. sewing as useful for snazzing something up or making something decorative. There's less around about e.g. making or fixing clothes. This conveniently lines up with fast fashion. I'll say from experience that although fast fashion doesn't last long due to the quality, applying the right techniques can still make clothes last for years. Come to think of it, I wonder if clothes were ever really 'made to last' or whether previous generations just made things last. Maybe it's a mix of both.

When I was a kid (not that long ago) I remember having a tool kit and asking everyone for spare wood. Toys nowadays are like the Apple universe, where it works once before you have to buy a bespoke expansion kit. I know these things existed when I was a kid but it seems worse now. Then again I also used to take things apart around the house and put them back together so maybe I was just a misfit even then.

Anyway, my point was that there seems to be a connection between:

  • Dividing hobbies between genders rather than finding gendered ways to sell each hobby to boy, girl, and non-binary consumers (ironically? there has been an attempt to use rainbow flags to sell hobbies to LGBTQIA2S consumers) – removing the skill element and replacing it with mere consumerism.
  • Single use products and incompatibility between brands.

This suggests a relationship between modern gender norms and conditioning us to buy as many products as possible without ever repairing them. I'm unsure if this clarifies the difficulty in working out what hobbies are for which gender. But it seems to be confusing because we're getting mixed messages from the production side of things.

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[–] PunsNRoses@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

I just dyed my hair purple today, so there's that. I also like painting my nails.

[–] HaSch@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Considering Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Statistics, Symmetry Groups, Differential Geometry, and General Relativity, I have spent at least 6 semesters obsessing over things that are warm, small, fuzzy, round, smooth, and bouncy, respectively

[–] Big_Farto@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ah, perhaps you are familiar with the hairy ball theorem then. Very manly

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[–] ATiredPhilosopher@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] PiusBuenzli@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Taking care of the kids and spending time with them a lot is something I love. Not a lot of men do that in my area.

I'm so bad at gardening but it's fun and I'm trying.

Cooking is kinda a hobby as well that I enjoy a lot

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