I’m doing some research for a post I’d like to make in this community about the crisis of masculinity and I had a question pop into my brain: Why don’t manly men explain the reason for being a man?

Let me explain.

A manly man may, when asked why they’re a man, respond “Look at me”, as if phenotypic expression makes them a man, even as they may disparage a trans-man who has similar physical characteristics. Or they may say, “Because I’m the breadwinner” or some other variation that references the role they play in society as a man.

But like…why do that in the first place?

I’m a biological male but I honestly could not provide a purpose for being a man even though that is how I gender myself. I don’t appeal to my role as a man in anything I do nor do I see it as a justification for acting in any way. I don’t aspire to “be a man”, it’s not a motivating force.

So, I’m curious as to why it does for others. Help me out, y’all! Why “be man” in the first place?