What Makes a Man Manly?
What Makes a Man Manly?
When I think of a man being manly, what do I see? I imagine a man who possesses certain characteristics like honesty, trust, and confidence. Additionally, he is a strong role model for his wife and children, and he is a provider for his family. With these ideas in mind, I examined T.V. show depiction of men. I explore the characteristics of a manly man from the 1900 to 2000 through the eyes of television sitcom shows. I was curious about the comparison. How did men compare and contrast in the 1900 to men in the year 2000?
Let’s take a good look at the father in Little House on The Prairie which was centered in the mid 1935’s. He was a farmer with strong religious values. He took care of his family by working a farm and doing moderate mill work on off seasons. He took pride in being a father and provider for his family. They didn’t have much, but he based his life on love, God and providing his family with the basic needs to survive. He had very limited education, but I remember in every episode after the family would all sit down to eat; he would read them a passage from a book or out of the bible and then smoke his pipe and go to bed. I see his manly characteristics as a provider, a godly man, and a strong role model that every member of the family respected and looked up to.
The sitcom Leave it to Beaver was centered on a 1950’s family. The father wore a three piece suit, went to a nine to five job every day to sit behind a desk. He was a very honest and trust worthy man who took pride in being a family man. He was a very religious man who took his family to church every Sunday. He used a lot of wisdom. He allowed his children to make mistakes, and he taught them to solve their own problems with a little guidance from him. I remember seeing in all the episodes the father would come home, get his newspaper, sit in his special chair, smoke his pipe and read his paper until dinner was done. Although the times of the programs were vastly
When I think of a man being manly, what do I see? I imagine a man who possesses certain characteristics like honesty, trust, and confidence. Additionally, he is a strong role model for his wife and children, and he is a provider for his family. With these ideas in mind, I examined T.V. show depiction of men. I explore the characteristics of a manly man from the 1900 to 2000 through the eyes of television sitcom shows. I was curious about the comparison. How did men compare and contrast in the 1900 to men in the year 2000?
Let’s take a good look at the father in Little House on The Prairie which was centered in the mid 1935’s. He was a farmer with strong religious values. He took care of his family by working a farm and doing moderate mill work on off seasons. He took pride in being a father and provider for his family. They didn’t have much, but he based his life on love, God and providing his family with the basic needs to survive. He had very limited education, but I remember in every episode after the family would all sit down to eat; he would read them a passage from a book or out of the bible and then smoke his pipe and go to bed. I see his manly characteristics as a provider, a godly man, and a strong role model that every member of the family respected and looked up to.
The sitcom Leave it to Beaver was centered on a 1950’s family. The father wore a three piece suit, went to a nine to five job every day to sit behind a desk. He was a very honest and trust worthy man who took pride in being a family man. He was a very religious man who took his family to church every Sunday. He used a lot of wisdom. He allowed his children to make mistakes, and he taught them to solve their own problems with a little guidance from him. I remember seeing in all the episodes the father would come home, get his newspaper, sit in his special chair, smoke his pipe and read his paper until dinner was done. Although the times of the programs were vastly
Cited: Chiarella, Tom. "10 Ways to be a more Manly Man, The Characteristics of the Ideal Man." 6 April 2009. Esquire. 4 April 2011. Joel. "What makes a Man? Seven Characteristics of a Man." 16 January 2009. Blog.Joel. 4 April 2011 <www.blog.joelx.com>. McKay, Kate. "On Manly Loyality." 25 October 2009. The Philosophy of Loyalty 1920. 24 March 2011. Phoenix, University of. "Understanding What makes a Male a Man." n.d. University of Phoenx. 17 March 2011. Royce, Josiah. "The Philosophy of Loyalty." 1920. The Art of Manliness. 24 March 2011.