Less of a Man

Men are people who live in terms of heirarchy. This is how they assess each other.Who outranks whom is not so much the issue here; rather it is a question of having assumed the responsibilities expected of a man in his society. In western cultures, the priorities are, in ascending order, gainful employment, wife, children, grandchildren. Somewhere along the way, a man is also expected to become a householder - a man of property. Shades of meaning enter the picture when one begins assessing the quality of the wife, children, grandchildren, and property. The title all men wish to avoid is that of drone; a man with nothing to offer beyond his biology who attaches himself to a woman.

Women assess men differently. While women acknowledge the worth of the above, wwomen judge men upon their behavior - how a man acquires the employment, wife, children, etc. matters just as much as whether he has them. Lying, stealing, cheating, or gaining them because he was bought and these are his payoff will diminish his value in her eyes. Women want men who will enjoy honoring their obligations and show some grace while doing so which is why a pregnant wife about to give birth is not thrilled to find her husband several states away in a hotel bar with his girlfriend. for us, a man has to be more than just 'a steady paycheck'.

Men are caught up in "love, honor, and cherish" as well as in "protect, defend, and provide".

It is only his inability to meet those obligations that make him less of a man; not whatever he gets up to in the bedroom.