ledbythewind | [Voice/Action]

[Ah, Valentine's Day. The one experiment a year Richard hates most, for a variety of reasons. Granted, this year wasn't TOO terrible, as he was spared the unfortunate fate of falling in love with anyone under the effects of the experiment... but that didn't stop other people from from falling in love/lust with HIM, much to his dismay. And that's left him with many things to think about, as have some of the reactions to the experiment that he's seen from other people. Which leads him to ponder...]

Indulge my curiosity: what sorts of things are considered traditionally "masculine" where you come from?

[A bit later on, Richard will head out of the house on a shopping trip to All Passions and the item store, where he can be found looking for a new wardrobe and a few other things, probably as a result of some of the answers he received to his question. After picking out a bunch of things to take home with him, he chooses something new to wear home as well: cargo pants, combat boots, and a leather motorcycle jacket, because all of those things are super-masculine, right? Alas, on someone with the approximate build of a toothpick and delicate features like Richard has, the end result is a bit ridiculous, but don't tell him that. (Or do, your choice.) He can't quite bring himself to cut his hair - he's still far too proud of it - so instead he opts to pull it back into a ponytail.

There. Much better, in his eyes. Now the question is, what will his friends and housemates think of this?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ah, that's a question. Are you asking about the sort of life a man traditionally leads, or about the exaggerated representation of a so-called "manly" man as represented in media?

How about both? After all, in some worlds they might as well be the same thing.

Traditionally, a man is expected to go through school, become a businessman at a company, receive standard promotions at set periods in his life, marry and have children at some point, and work himself to the bone providing for his family until he becomes old enough to retire.

The media depicts masculinity as an ideal wrapped up in battle as well as a strong adherence to a moral code and loyalty.

They're similar, but one of them involves a lot more bloodshed and autonomy.

Interestingly enough, the second one sounds more like the reality of things in my world. It's a bit strange to hear it described as fiction in another, but I suppose that's just something to be expected in a place like this.

I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that there are similarities between our worlds, however.

I wouldn't expect human nature to vary much between worlds. That which is seen as best for the whole, in theory, shouldn't change a lot, and at the worst I'd think the changes would just be which actions are assigned to which gender.

Media depictions, while exaggerated, also still have truth to them in my world. But the reality is that chances to prove skill and honor through combat have become rare and discouraged, so the realistic masculine ideal has become redirected into something less exciting.

But it is still based on the same ultimate ideal.

[That's exactly what he had been afraid of: that things really AREN'T that different between worlds.

"Best for the whole." Those words sting with what they imply, that it's best for the whole for men to be traditionally masculine. Which doesn't leave men like him with much of a place in the grand scheme of things.]

Essentially, yes. I doubt they'd be able to coexist if they were different.

Why the question? [ Mr. Josh-met-you-when-you-were-wearing-a-dress-and-makeup ]

I was curious about some of the things I'd seen and heard during the most recent experiment regarding matters of attraction. It made me wonder what the standards were in different worlds, and what kind of effects they might have in a place like Luceti.

[Hush, that was for a reason, okay.]

... What do you mean?

[ Guess who totally missed that there were rules about how attraction worked. ]

Surely different worlds have different standards of attraction, wouldn't you agree?

Yes, but at the same time different people have different standards. Overall trends are little more than guidelines when it comes to individual cases.

The general trends are what I was most curious about, though I suppose individual cases could be interesting as well.

And have you received interesting answers?

That would be one way of putting it...

[Poking orcs with sticks? He's still not sure about that one.]

What would be another?

Let's just say that I'd never considered eyebrows to be a sign of masculinity before.

... [ Did he hear that right. ]

Eyebrows?

Edited 2013-03-23 06:19 (UTC)

Yes, apparently thick eyebrows are seen as masculine in some worlds.

... I suppose I can see where that may come from. After all, facial hair tends to be a characteristic of men that women lack.

While that may be true, there still is such a thing as going overboard.

Maybe so, but different cultures create different standards. I find that the reasons behind those differences are what makes things interesting. Don't you agree?

I think it would be more interesting if there were more differences between cultures on this subject. As it is, I'm getting many of the same answers over and over.

What sorts of things?

Things such as being strong and muscular, being able to protect those in need. Those particular answers seem to be a constant no matter who you ask. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder whether there are any worlds in which those standards don't hold true.

That's not really surprising. After all, I don't think there's a particular situation where you could strictly eliminate both of them. A society that relies on helping others would value being able to protect them, and a society that favors individual skill would want people to be strong.

It would be difficult to make something sustainable which doesn't prioritize either.

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