Where Have All the Men Gone?

I know that a lot of other sources have brought up this topic, but I wanted to address my thoughts on it as well. I'm not an anti-feminist, nor am I trying to convey that message, but really, where have all the men gone?

I believe that gender roles do, and should, still exist. It goes back to prehistoric and Biblical times of men being the hunter-gatherer. Men had to possess skill to hunt for food, shelter, and be able to make clothing to keep warm from the animals they were able to kill. As time went on, other manly skills and professions developed: carpentry, farming, welding, fishing, hunting. The list goes on and on. What happened?

Somewhere along the line, men started becoming less masculine. My (unscientifically proven, but probably somewhat correct) theory is that this generation became one raised by women. Men would go to work all day, leaving their sons at home with mom. Young boys would be at home seeing mom bake, clean, and other essential items that needed to be done to keep a home functioning properly. Gone are the days that it was acceptable for young men to accompany their fathers to the field to learn a trade that could be passed down from father to son. Now, more and more men are getting manicures, pedicures, fake tans, waxing, and some have even started carrying handbags. Come on!

I'll admit, I'm not the most handy man out there. My mom's father was a skilled carpenter, electrician, and draftsman. If it was broke, he knew how to fix it. Sadly, he died of cancer when I was less than three and I have no memory of him. My mom has said (half jokingly) that when she married my dad, she was unaware that not all men could fix everything in the house. Sure, my dad knows how to fix some things, but if any remodeling is going to be done, a contractor is going to be called. It's easy to see in my own family how the chain of manliness is being failed to be passed on. My grandfather knew a lot of manly skills, my dad knows quite a few, but not all of them are being passed down to me. I can remember one instance when I was 16 or 17, when I wanted my father to teach me a certain skill: changing the oil in my car.

"Dad," I asked, "can you teach me to change the oil in the car?"
"You have to pay for 4 quarts of motor oil to do it," he replied.
"Well, mechanics charge $20-25 to change the oil."
"It's a time consuming process."
"It takes time to take it to the mechanic, too."

He then went on to explain about recycling the old oil and wondering where I would take it. He also pointed out where the oil filter was in 2001 Chevy Cavalier, and how difficult it would be get to without the car on a lift. I never learned how to change the oil. It is something that still bothers me that I don't know how to do.

While car mechanics may not be my forte, I take some comfort in that fact that I do have other useful skills to have. Surprisingly to me, a large number of men don't know how to build a fire. I have some experience camping and know how to build a fire and set up a tent, which I feel are skills that every man should know.

It's time to take a stand on this new womanizing society. Gender roles exist for a reason, and society needs real men; real gentlemen. Chivalry should not be dead, and no one should question where it went. I've decided I will start writing new pieces about man essentials, or Manssentials. I'll leave you with an appropriate song for this post: I'm Still a Guy by Brad Paisley.