Thread: Men need men...

I'm a great fan of The Art of Manliness (that I got to know through SRP, by the way...) and I read articles on the site everyday and I've been listening to the podcasts recently.

One of the most important base-line ideas of the philosophy of the site is precisely this: our world is feminized and men today, perhaps more than ever, need other men to be able to be MEN.

So, men need men. This doesn't mean (as a feminist professor I had during my final year at University would say) that we are reacting and entering a new stream of reactionary "machismo". I'm sure that all of us are firm belivers that equality of gender in society is a great thing and none of us would be willing to submit women (manely our women, meaning mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and girlfriends) to the sort of apartheidish society that existed before some of the social revolutions that occured in the 20th century. But the result was a feminization of society due to our idiotic guilt complex...

But the fact of the matter is: men need men so that men can be men. And although we have women in our community (and they were welcomed with great warmth and gentlemanly behaviour from our part - I remember that because I was already a member of this community when the first ladies joined us), this forum is mainly constituted by men. Sure, the fact that this site is essencialy about shaving is one of the reasons that make this such a male-orientated forum. But I do beleive that we cherish this manliness... and that by participating in this global phenomenon that is the uprising of the classic shaving methods we are indeed getting in touch with our masculine behaviours that were somehow missing from our every day lives.

I speak for myself... my brother is on the other side of the planet, my father is not much of a role model though I have a nice relationship with him and I am, at the moment, deprived of friends (being all alone in Belgium at the moment... my very much loved little wife will be joining me shortly, though).

So I guess that this is, to me, more than a group of people that discuss razors in a rather geeky way. This is a group of male friends that I can count on for some support. Sure, it is not close support due to the fact that we are spreaded around the globe and if hell brakes loose, it is highly unlikely that any of us (except if you happen to live close to another user) would benefit from close phisical support. But it is guaranteed that, if something happens and you post something here, you will get replies from your internet buddies. And it is not cheap support either. I beleive that we all keenly read eachother's posts and reply earnestly. If you did a good thing you will be praised. If you did a bad thing you will get flack. And that is such a fantastic thing - this community is a community of instant friends. This is Men needing Men and embracing masculity in a earnest and composed way... I really do belive that I have friends here. And I do belive that all of us have friends here. And we might never get to meet eachother in real life. But it is nice to count on eachother in this nice, rugged way.

Thanks for reading this rather lengthy post... I guess I was feeling a bit lonely. All better now, though!