Characteristics of a “Man”

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As the old saying goes and a question many of us men try to answer for ourselves is what characteristics make a man, a man? There are a plethora of meme’s and quotations all geared toward telling us men what it is to be a man but I have to wonder if all that is true or is this just a bunch of male ego driven platitudes to hide our true natures as men. 

One site provides a few characteristics as follows: Physical Presence, Function as to ability, Sexual as in offspring and carrying on the family name, Emotional and in Emotional Maturity, Intellectual, and Interpersonal. They give an “Other category” but that is simply a catch all for things that the author feels makes for a man. 

I look first to “personality and character.” The trouble is, by whose standards and what determines personality and what makes for good character for that list in and of itself can be long, very long. You have to wonder whether all other characteristics actually fall under the two headings of character and personality because to my mind it is those characteristics that create a person of character and personality. I also suspect it involves cultural influences, social requirements and necessities as well as tribal like hierarchal standards, practices and requirements that would dictate the necessary character and personality of a man toward his survival as well as the tribe and so on. It is how the tribe and the social construct according to cultural belief systems that would dictate personality and character in making a man, a solid contributor and defender of the social group tribe construct. 

Then again, I suspect for every man out there regardless of social tribal make up will give you a different characteristic or set of characteristics that say, to them and their tribe, what it takes to be a man. 

I also feel that this subject of being a man is also what leads to a whole lot of conflict and violence when you consider things like tribal hierarchy toward status, etc. It them becomes about your status and how that makes you a man with the higher status seeking often ending up by use of conflict and violent means. Other aspect in this use of man toward a competitive aspect within tribes is also about ambition, pride both personal and tribal, the honor as well being both personal and tribal, then competitiveness explains the status and need to rise higher in the tribe then there is that sense of adventure but that tends to take us from a sense of responsibility both family and tribal. 

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