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Is It Okay to Be Masculine Again?
https://pjmedia.com ^ | 5/21/2025 | David Manney

Posted on 05/21/2025 7:28:56 PM PDT by bitt

I am a huge John Wayne fan. I grew up watching his movies, soaking in the grit, strength, and unspoken code he brought to every role. He didn’t just play heroes; he defined what it meant to be a man in a world that respected strength paired with decency.

There was a time in America when the question didn’t need asking.

Masculinity was a virtue, not a liability. It meant something. Not an identity crisis waiting to happen, but a foundation for society: men who worked hard, stood up straight, took care of their families, and didn’t ask for applause.

You could find it in a handshake, a father’s lecture, or in the quiet resolve of a farmer up before dawn. You could see it on screen, too. John Wayne didn’t have to spell it out. He just stood there, firm and unshaken, and the audience knew. He was the kind of man who said little, meant everything he said, and would stand before a bullet if it meant protecting the innocent.

Today, we sometimes ask sheepishly and defiantly: Is it okay to be masculine again?

That we even have to ask is a warning sign.

The Vanishing Point In the past few decades, there has been a cultural shift that has treated traditional masculinity with suspicion, not a specific type of man but the very notion of manhood. Young boys are told their instincts to compete, protect, and achieve might be problematic. Men who show stoicism are told to emote more. Men who lead are accused of overshadowing others. Men who defend are asked to check their privilege.

What began as a well-intentioned critique of brutishness evolved into a blanket of suspicion of strength itself. Suddenly, masculinity was no longer something to aspire to; it was something to be

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: eyeroll; masculine; men
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1 posted on 05/21/2025 7:28:56 PM PDT by bitt
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To: null and void; aragorn; EnigmaticAnomaly; kalee; Kale; AZ .44 MAG; Baynative; bgill; bitt; ...

P


2 posted on 05/21/2025 7:29:10 PM PDT by bitt (<img src=' 'width=30%>)
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To: bitt

I suppose I’ll catch a bit of flack here. But that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with John Wayne. He was a patriot, and a superb actor.

But the real heroes of his era were the WW2 combat vets. Jimmy Stewart. Clark Gable. Eddie Albert. David Niven. The list goes on and on.


3 posted on 05/21/2025 7:34:54 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It’s morning in America. Again.)
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To: bitt

Only if you’re A biological female, apparently.


4 posted on 05/21/2025 7:35:12 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing)
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To: bitt

David Manney has the right surname to write this article.


5 posted on 05/21/2025 7:37:36 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“Diversity is our Strength” just doesn’t carry the same message as “Death from Above”)
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To: bitt

Would a Man ask such a question?


6 posted on 05/21/2025 7:38:13 PM PDT by Paladin2 (YMMV)
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To: bitt
Hollywood promoted that because globalists needed American men to sign up to die in bankers' wars.

White men are walking away. Let the globalists draft women and illegal alien invaders.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/12/white-men-dont-want-to-join-an-army-that-tells-them-they-arent-wanted/

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/army-recruitment-ad-all-white-twitter-racism/

https://floridajolt.com/you-need-straight-white-guys-to-die-for-you-again-u-s-army-scraps-woke-ads-fails-to-meet-recruiting-goals/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/18/us-military-uk-recruiting-crisis-white-male/

7 posted on 05/21/2025 7:42:23 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: Paladin2

Zackly.


8 posted on 05/21/2025 7:44:47 PM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: bitt

I think the masculine revival might have gone overboard a bit when it comes to facial hair. You don’t need a ZZ Top or Duck Dynasty beard, or Gimli beard to show that you are a real man. Clean shaven or a carefully groomed facial hair look will do. That’s this lady’s point of view.


9 posted on 05/21/2025 7:46:37 PM PDT by married21 (As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.)
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To: bitt

I’ve got a dip of snuff and watching the Stars whoop the Oilers. A man’s game.


10 posted on 05/21/2025 7:52:13 PM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: bitt

It was never not ok


11 posted on 05/21/2025 7:52:23 PM PDT by cyclotic (Don’t be part of the problem. Be the entire problem)
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To: bitt

To be accepted by fellow Democrats, you have to be a gender-confused hater of everything traditional, especially white people.


12 posted on 05/21/2025 7:52:27 PM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: bitt

Young men today (I know...I am old) can’t fix things.

I think one contributing factor is not teaching “Shop” in school.


13 posted on 05/21/2025 7:52:57 PM PDT by kinsman redeemer (The real enemy seeks to devour what is good. )
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To: kinsman redeemer

> I think one contributing factor is not teaching “Shop” in school. <

Blame it on that clown, George W. Bush. His idiotic “No Child Left Behind” program tested for math and English, but not for the trades. And woe to the principal whose school scored poorly on the NCLB exam.

So as a matter of survival, principals dropped their shop classes and shoved those students into advanced math and English classes.

Crazy. But I’m told that the trades are now making a comeback in the high schools. If so, that’s very good news.


14 posted on 05/21/2025 8:02:23 PM PDT by Leaning Right (It’s morning in America. Again.)
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To: bitt
Today, we sometimes ask sheepishly and defiantly: Is it okay to be masculine again?

Speak for yourself, Percy.

15 posted on 05/21/2025 8:18:50 PM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin ( )
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To: bitt

John “Duke” Wayne was the best to represent masculinity. Another includes Audie Murphy (short in stature but he had presence.


16 posted on 05/21/2025 8:22:37 PM PDT by gildafarrell (You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.)
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To: kinsman redeemer
Young men today (I know...I am old) can’t fix things.

Men who can fix things can think for themselves. The State doesn't want men to think for themselves. They want ignorant compliance.

17 posted on 05/21/2025 8:37:03 PM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: gildafarrell

18 posted on 05/21/2025 8:39:41 PM PDT by chief lee runamok ( Le Flâneur @Large)
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To: bitt
Is It Okay to Be Masculine Again?

That'll be the day.

19 posted on 05/21/2025 8:42:04 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (The judges are ganging up against the American people.)
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To: married21
Clean shaven

After she viewed Kris Kristopherson's performance in the 1976 film, A Star is Born, Mrs. Chandler asked me to grow a beard. 30 years later I shaved it off and she refused to kiss me until I grew it back.

20 posted on 05/21/2025 8:45:30 PM PDT by Jeff Chandler (The judges are ganging up against the American people.)
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