You’re both correct, but it is even more than that.
When I was growing up, like most kids in the neighborhood, my Dad did most of the upkeep around the house himself out of financial necessity. We needed a large tool shed for the back yard, we built one. Another light and switch in the hallway, we installed one. By time I left home at 18, I don’t think I could build a house from scratch, but there was very little about the process that I didn’t know something about.
Now days, with so many single households and the like, young men get almost NO experience with their hands, or how to repair anything. A neighbor near us (less than half my age) got burned terribly by some “home improvement” company. When he told me the story, my first thought was - how could you be so stupid, I knew better than that when I was ten years old. But I said nothing because how little he knows is not unusual, and just a sad fact of modern life.
yup, I’ve encouraged both of my sons to get in the garage and build stuff. As a result I can never find my tools when I need them but they both have the common skills that don’t seem to be that common anymore.
Congrats for getting your hands dirty at a young age and learning some skills. Yes, it's sad that lots of boys grow without learning skills. My younger daughter helped me build a couple tool sheds, and helped in remodeling a couple rooms. She got quite good at putting up and mudding drywall. While attending her university, she got a job fixing up the university dormitories (over a dozen buildings) for good pay.
She knows more than her husband about remodeling, and after marrying she remodeled his house (including totally gutting and rebuilding the bathroom) with her own hands before they sold it. It sold within a few days of showing. So not only boys can gain something by learning blue collar skills.