The Strong Man

A FB friend commented this:- 'Contrary to the prevailing beliefs and weak male role models of the past 50 years it actually is still OK to be a strong man.'

And there was a huge discussion beneath it which covered everything from single mums to muscle building - and my comment got extra long (see below). I want to know what you think though.

'Ooh, I enjoyed that semantics discussion :) I think there is a new dynamic from single parent families - it's very hard to be both parents and of course everyone who becomes a parent figure affects a child's behaviour and personality. Strong men who are confident in themselves and who they are = GREAT. The world needs them. Not namby pamby folk who can't stand up for shite. And women need men to stand up on their behalf around the world. There are so many countries with so much oppression that if the strong fellas began to speak out on behalf of those who are oppressed it would help so much. Like in the past a strong man had to have so many qualities; as a provider, as a protector, but in particular caring for everyone; the old, the young. And women have done that too, in a way with so many men dying in wars over generations they have had to man up so to speak; my family was all women brought up on each side because all the granddads died in WW1 and the same a generation before that. In a way that helped women folk gain their equality - its sad but true to say. Did we lose something? Yes, we did. A strong man to me isn't just someone who can get the lid off the jar, its someone who can choose where they stand in the complex field that is today's world and say something really important and be a rock among the craziness. It always amazes me how - un-leaderish our male leaders look; muscling up would inspire some confidence I think, but empty posturing - no thank you. I don't think I ever thought it wasn't ok to be a strong man - I just think a lot killed and our society burns them up. Come out come out wherever you are? We need physically strong chaps and mentally strong ones. We need all the strength we can get. We need savvy ones. I don't think its just OK to be a strong man/role figure I think there's an absolute necessity.

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