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Let's Study the Man-Child
emnmnme
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Man-children. Adult males who are emotionally underdeveloped, lazy, and unable to function when it comes to making grown-up decisions. Some variations are chubby, poorly groomed, dim-witted, selfish, bad with money, and unlucky with love. In short, you don't want to be described as a man-child because a man-child is a pathetic-yet-somehow-lovable/pitiable creature.
It's my feeling that the man-child has become a stereotype applied to guys in their late twenties and thirties. It's not by any means a crippling stereotype but, for some reason, the grown man reading comic books or playing tabletop games is seen as less than masculine. Why is having an action figure collection considered a girl repellent? How often do women feel they have the chore of training their husbands? Do any self-described man-children have a juicy stories of irresponsibility to share?
It's my feeling that the man-child has become a stereotype applied to guys in their late twenties and thirties. It's not by any means a crippling stereotype but, for some reason, the grown man reading comic books or playing tabletop games is seen as less than masculine. Why is having an action figure collection considered a girl repellent? How often do women feel they have the chore of training their husbands? Do any self-described man-children have a juicy stories of irresponsibility to share?
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pleasepaypreacher.net
For the other man-child image... I think it's seen as the natural progression for the teenage nerd, now that being a "nerd" is no longer seen as a phase that people grow out of. As far as it being less masculine... My interpretation is that it bumps up against the societal norm of the age where men "traditionally" accept other responsibilities and leave childish things behind. the tension is friction between those two things - as we all know, people can't conform to more than one stereotype. Otherwise, how would we pidgeon-hole them?
Outside of that the bumbling husband sells. And as stated, people are no longer scared about being a nerd.
I've been told that my apartment looks like a kids bedroom before. Gaming systems, multiple TV's, computers, servers, ect. Posters all over the place, skateboards/inlineskates/snowboard on the walls. Action figures in places. Giant bean bags. So women do say grow up, others think it's cute or kinda cool.
At the end of the day screw it. If it makes me a man-child, so be it. I'll wear the title proudly.
There are a lot of other angles to look at it from, though. The importance of a "traditional" life course (getting married, raising kids, etc), selfishness vs. responsibility (and responsibility to whom? family? community? society?)...
Then there's the part where a lot of the hubbub about Man-Children are coming from the older generations, the same people who bagged on Gen Xers for being slackers in the early 90's (you know, Generation X, the generation that made the internet boom happen)... so how much of it is just the same old "get off my lawn" rhetoric?
But also, a lot of the younger generation took a look at their parents, saw them work at a crappy jobs their whole lives, watched their bosses and businesses crap on them over and over again, and have decided to take a different route through life.
This is an interesting topic to me; something I've been reflecting about in my own life recently... I'm curious to hear y'alls take.
I don't know if C.S. Lews is the best guy to be talking about manhood and maturity.
I'd pay $10 to see that ad made.
My follow up would be an old man behind the wheel looking about to die, and then a simple text at the end.
"Allstate?"
pleasepaypreacher.net
In instances like his, I think "man-child" is an apt descriptor because it describes a person who has the self-awareness of a small child. A child, uncaring what the world thinks of him, will wear a cape and Superman shirt outside. The man-child will, too.
In a weird way, it also reminds me of a lot of single black women friends and co-workers I know who constantly complain about how there are no nice guys out there. But by "nice," they mean "30 year old black guy who is 6'5", super-athletic, makes at least $250,000, has no criminal record, drives a nice car, can dance well, pays for everything, buys her frequent gifts, goes to church, and loves his mother."
Man-children will lament their frequent dearth of mates as well, but when they say "why can't I meet a nice girl?," "nice" takes the definition of "accept me for the introverted, over-weight, obsessive, niche-interest, toy-collecting, cartoon t-shirt wearing, poorly hygeined, unstylish troll I want to be, while also being impossibly attractive and taking care of me like my mother does."
Hence the "oddly"
Like i've said before, demanding to be completely accepted as you are is just narcissism.
Slogan isn't nearly stereotypical enough.
Allstate: You'd better have insurance because the Mexican who crashes into you won't.
Hey I'm at work, take it or leave it
I don't have to demand it, society does that for me.
That society demands something is no measure of its justification. Society has demanded a lot of bullshit things over the years.
I love the infomercials that depict everyone ever as being awful at the most mundane tasks.
"Can't strain pasta without boiling the flesh off of your hands? We've got a solution!"
Go on......
I don't think that being a better person than a narcissistic slob with stunted social skills is a horrible societal demand.
Is your sandwich making you angry?
Yet the discussion had been largely revolving around wearing cat ears on a bus.
It's the best example someone could come up with at the time and you know people on the internet; once the bite is clamped down, you can't get it off.
I agree, take a teenager: they're too afraid of looking childish to touch something that looks childish.
This is why teenagers rejected Zelda on the gamecube, generally won't touch a Lego game, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14lksThgo0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpgeACOMS9o
One of these is okay, the other is decidedly not. Conflating the two is pretty disgusting but pretty common. Not that there isn't some crossover.
Heh, yes.
Among the favorites of mine would be the one that shows a housewife wielding a butcher knife like cudgel for slicing a tomato, and another with a guy ineffectually trying to unscrew a lid off a jar and spilling the contents in an explosive mess.
It's about as bad as the Carl's Jr. ad showing men to be utter morons in situations that don't involve cars, sports, and beer.
I thought of Lebron James in high school.
Alternatively, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel.
What man-boy means to me is the irresponsible stuff. Man boy is not defined by the specific hobby, more about just not being able to let go of things, and realize it's not socially acceptable to be a fanatic about anything, like comics or sports or anything. Also sacraficing getting ahead in life for your hobbies in very rediculous ways, like being unwilling to work fulltime jobs to play halo, buying x-men toys rather than paying child support, living at your parents rather than getting a real job, buying a brand new car / bike when you can barely afford to feed yourself...
PS2
FF X replay
PS3
God of War 1&2 HD
Rachet and Clank Future
MGS 4
Prince of Persia
360
Bayonetta
Fable 3
DS
FF: 4 heroes of light
:?:
I'd honestly picture more of something like the Mayhem commercials..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0
But with him hunched over the wheel, barely seeing over the top, and acting like he has no teeth while he talks.
Seriously. $10 to the ad company in an instant.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Terrible meme that captured my housemates I had when I was 21.
I'm not sure what this means at all. So when I've met my needs (maybe only with part time employment!) of food, rent, and all other legal obligations, it's not OK to be fanatic about something?
That just seems wrong to me, and a very clear example of why societal demands are in general terrible.
Note that you seemed to separate responsibility and fanaticism in your above post, so if I took it wrong, apologies and so forth.
Would you be a man-child perchance?
Getting back on track, is the stereotype a problem? Can you see it coloring your judgments of middle-aged men who play with toys? How much did man-child stigma affect the public's perception of Michael Jackson? His reluctance to grow up didn't win him any support from the tabloids.
This is the gist of it.
It's funny because it's about being a dirty slob and there's a picture of a frog.
gender equality gooooo