Barbershop Blog
THE CHALLENGE FOR THE MEN OF TODAY
February 13, 2020
For thousands of years gone bye, boys would only transition into manhood by proving their masculinity to their piers. Stories are told of a group of boys leaving to hunt down a great beast and only those who return would earn their rites of passage. Woman will be given respect until they do something to loose it, men on the other hand are not entitled to that respect until they have earned it. Manhood is something that is validated by others and must be claimed though ones actions. Today we take a look at the roots of risk and reward and the modern man’s thirst for the challenge.
Whether the politically correct like to acknowledge it or not, there exists an intrinsic difference between men and woman. The blood coursing our veins is the same but the thinking and behaviour is inherently different. It is all too common for a guy to be told to ‘man up’, but never once did anyone say to a woman to ‘woman up’.
The phrase is nonsense to a woman but tell a man and he will know exactly what you’re talking about.
A couple of hundred years ago and man’s motivation for the challenge could be seen to stem from his ambition to sire progeny. Things were far less monogamous back then. Men of high status or the alpha males could sire children with numerous partners and this would prevent less successful candidates from fathering any at all. Men would seek wealth and glory which would elevate them above their rivals. The stakes were high and success came through high risk and consequence, failure to meet the challenge often resulting in death.
Along with the 20th century came a time of great wars and the history from this period is riddled with tales of great selflessness, sacrifice and heroism. When we hear the stories we get a ping in our heart and a certain longing that we might find difficult to explain. It is not that anyone could possibly want to face the horrors of that era, but more that there exists a need to know, that in the face of such terrible circumstance, could we too show the bravery and courage needed to win the day and have our actions echo through the ages?
Now in the 21st century we find ourselves in an age where everyone gets a trophy and all participants are winners, many of the opportunities to test ones mettle have been lost along the way. What hasn’t been eroded is the need for validation of our actions amongst our piers. Young men are still expected to step out of their comfort zone and take part in some shit that scares the hell out of them. There is a need for recognition and esteem and that continues to push men towards the challenge.
At the roots of it all, the motivation comes from a very organic and primordial drive, put simply, we seek to assert our manliness so that we may stand out from the pack and win favour with the ladies. At the end of the day, the incentive for the challenge is obvious and hasn’t changed since the dawn of time.
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