Macho?

[John Fenna]

As a hairy, bearded, knife making, heterosexual, ex-rugby playing married man of 29 years standing, who also has a Btec diploma in Fashion Design, loves sewing, has a Diploma in Aromatherapy and enjoys cooking and cares not one whit that some of his friends (of both Genders) are homosexual, AND takes a nurturing role when leading expeds of young people abroad (dealing with minor injuries, homesickness etc as well as ensuring they are fed, watered and sheltered adequately) I find the term "Macho" an amusing synonym for "insecure".
Insecure crafts - dodgy sewing?
The young lady in Erics picture looks like the kind of girl I would like to meet - no dodgy sewing there...real Arts and Crafts movement - practicallity in a beautiful form: form and function in a beautiful combination!

 

[Tourist]

You could even say:

Macho (noun), Male with little or no understanding or practical comprehension of skills traditionally assigned to females.

Nowadays after a career in the Military and the Police I am a house husband with all the domestic responsibilities. I learned to cook, bake and sew from my mum and the old man made sure I knew how to keep myself and my space clean. I could'nt arrange flowers if my life depended on it though.

 

[andy_e]

The young lady in Erics picture looks like the kind of girl I would like to meet - no dodgy sewing there...real Arts and Crafts movement - practicallity in a beautiful form: form and function in a beautiful combination!

Steady there John, you'll do yourself an injury - or she will with that hammer

 

[John Fenna]

Or my wife will if see misinturprets my artistic apreciation of the photo!

 

[firecrest]

It works like this -
Gadget = Mans work. `Not a penis extenion` = womens work This goes for things other than bushcraft.
Mowing the lawn. (Gadget/pensis extension)= mans work.
mopping floors (non gadget) = womens work.
Hoovering (loud gadget) =men will do this occasionally
washing clothes - involves an electronic gadget, but you don't manually control it, therfor, not penis extension - womans work

 

[andy_e]

Or my wife will if see misinturprets my artistic apreciation of the photo!

Am sure I've heard that excuse before

 

[andy_e]

...
mopping floors (non gadget) = womens work.
Hoovering (loud gadget) =men will do this occasionally
...

So ... where does the Vax hoover/floor-washer machine come in here

 

[locum76]

apparently the word macho derives from the spanish machismo which hints to the superiority of men over women, which is obviously a fallacy. I associate it with bullfighters and the like and other pointless displays of manliness.

making jam, sowing a pair of shoes, shooting a rabbit, crocheting a doily or anything else are just skills which can be performed by a man, women or someone in between.

 

[mr dazzler]

apparently the word macho derives from the spanish machismo which hints to the superiority of men over women, which is obviously a fallacy. I associate it with bullfighters and the like and other pointless displays of manliness.

Theres a lot of myths and surely one of them is that women are equal to men and can do the same work as men. This is wrong plain wrong. I have worked in several different scenario's alongside women and it is so blatantly obvious that they simply cannot do the samme work as men do. They insist on the exact same wage's but get away with the easy job's, that is a fact (at least in industrial settings in NE England) and not based on prejudice sexism or misogany. I got entirely hacked off with female "supervisors" who would ask you to do something and would start off by saying "I know its sexist, but....." And they would threaten me with disiplinary action when I said if sexism is illegal then dont be sexist toward's me please (Oh I forgot its only MEN that are sexist silly me) If women ARE equal to men then they should do the EXACT same work, no special exception's or allowance's to get the light easy job's (and expect the big macho guys to carry the thick end of the wedge )

 

[Tengu]

No, you are wrong there. Women are capable of doing the same work as men...

...All except that they can get a man to do for them.

 

[Fin]

Macho (adj) - showing aggressive pride in one's masculinity.

Great thread and a thought provoking one as well.

I think that the whole concept of what constitutes "macho" activity as opposed to "feminine" activity comes down to the vagaries of time, fashion and social conditioning. Today, for example, Midwifery attracts a disproportionate amount of women whereas, say, Firefighting attracts a disproportionate amount of men.

Individual perceptions are interesting too - cooking (which I love) is still seen as a feminine activity - albeit a cultural hangover from the recent times when a "woman's place was in the home" - why, then are the majority of professional chefs men?

Being a military type of more than 20 years (and counting) it is interesting to note that the first thing you are taught is, not to kill innocent women and children with your teeth! but to keep yourself and your kit, spotlessly cleaned, pressed and in perfect working order - the general philosophy being that you have to be taught to do the things that, up until now, your Mother did for you.(Ironing is still my job in our house - my wife does it twice as fast - but I do it "correctly").

Men are, generally, stronger than women - although I wouldn't have arm wrestled Fatima Whitbread in her prime and Kelly Holmes would severely embarrass me over any distance I cared to nominate!

I guess it comes down to individuality - if any man can knit me the ultimate wooly-pully, then I'm buying! Same too if any woman can forge me the perfect axe head.

Vive la differance!

 

[Wayland]

For every stereotype there is an exception.

I've worked in industrial settings in the past, temping while getting my own business off the ground, and they were often bastions of machismo.

Attributes to be admired were brute force, expletive punctuation and the ability to down twelve pints and still talk garbage about football.

I often saw women in these places that could do the same work as anyone, usually by using the available tools properly, something their laddish colleagues often spurned.

Unsurprisingly, people that could do the job properly, often rose from the shop floor to positions where they could tell other people how to do the job properly, even if they were then ignored by the "lads"

It was all a bit sad really, and goes a long way to explaining why women often left to work somewhere that they could use their brains a bit more.

I've also seen men that tried to blend in with the "lads" and fail miserably, standing out a mile because they read books at lunchtime instead of the Sun or the Daily Star.

Of course, it's not like that these days.

 

[Eric_Methven]

I've also seen men that tried to blend in with the "lads" and fail miserably, standing out a mile because they read books at lunchtime instead of the Sun or the Daily Star.

When I was doing my teacher training we looked at the media and did some tests from a given formula to work out the average reading age. That being the age you should be to understand the written word. The Times and Guardian had a reading age of twelve, the Express, Mirror and Mail had a reading age of seven, the Daily Star had a reading age of four. Sun readers don't care about reading age so long as she has big boobs.

Eric

 

[Jedadiah]

.(Ironing is still my job in our house - my wife does it twice as fast - but I do it "correctly").

Ah yes, i am VERY familiar with that situation!

 

[Tourist]

.(Ironing is still my job in our house - my wife does it twice as fast - but I do it "correctly").

Ah yes, i am VERY familiar with that situation!

if I mention ironing and the army I get into trouble............swmbo once did my kit, only once.

 

[Scally]

ERIC all i can say is that you have a great eye for detail !!!!!

 

[Wayland]

It's which detail that worries me...

 

[Eric_Methven]

It's all in the detail! An appreciation of blacksmithing led me to value the photo in question. The whitewashed forge, the tools hanging there like they'd been part of the setup since the beginning of time, the blonde bird with something long, hard and hot between her legs, you know the sort of stuff! Artistic appreciation, form and function, poetry in motion, do waddy waddy!.....

 

[xylaria]

My sister is trained blacksmith, she is 39, blonde (not natural) about size 10-12 and single.

I don't think men and women are the same, but the differances aren't enough to justify why some skills are viewed to be gender specific. The modern western world is pretty equal, the kilt thread a few weeks ago proved that. Where a skirt that shows your knees and someone will think you want to be molested.

 

[big_swede]

My sister is trained blacksmith, she is 39, blonde (not natural) about size 10-12 and single.

I wish I was 10-15 years older. (must not show swmbo this forum..)