My wife, Zanne from WhereGalsWander, wrote this article from a woman’s point of view.
A while ago, I wrote about A Woman’s Perspective On What It Means To “Man Up”. I talked about the difference between a boy, and a man; how a man knows who he is, what he wants and why. Sometimes I see comments on Suburban Men about how a gun, or a car, or a drink doesn’t make you a man or not. Of course it doesn’t. It is the feeling or emotion that those bring that resonate with your inner core and when you feel it in the grip of your palm, “yes, this is part of me, right now.”
The point of Suburban Men is to “feed your soul” on the emotions and senses that a single image can invoke if only for a few seconds. To have a nanosecond escape as you remember what a pine forest smells like as you are stuck in your cubicle. The thrill in your veins as you hear the motor rev. The quiet serenity as you sip. I can almost smell the diesel and cigars, and it takes me back to my childhood with my dad, and makes me feel like he is still here with me.
And there aren’t “man” items or “woman” items. There have been Saturdays where I get my nails done, go shoe shopping, have brunch and then jump on the bike and ride to the shooting range. I appreciate a good whiskey as much as the next guy. I don’t let any of those define who I am. I want to be soft, I want to be strong. I want to be whoever I want to be, however I want to be it.
There exists a brotherhood for men, but also a sisterhood for women. Sometimes it’s hard for a woman to find other women to help build her up and support her, instead of tear her down. I think it’s ok to say “Watch me redefine everything that it means to be a girl”. I think the idea that a woman can define herself can be a little intimidating, to both men and woman, but to “man up” in this sense is to find a woman as equal to him, to challenge him and when they hold each other they can say, “yes, this is part of me, right now.”
