What with Bastet's last thread and all, and because I've actually been thinking about this quite a bit lately, what's your definition of a man?
(Is Bastet a girl? )
- Edit - Seeing as how some of you have a hard time understanding what the point of this thread is, then I'll revise it: what's your definition of a man, from a mental perspective? Try to stay on that side of the spectrum, although it doesn't have to be strictly so. Or more simply, when is a boy not a boy anymore, but rather a man?
- Edit2 - Would the meaning change if I asked you: what defines a gentleman? If so, then please restate your answers. :]
Last edited by fena on Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
Shadowman20818 wrote:Gotta go with obvious anatomy here.
Come on. Be serious. :[
He's right. Can't be a man without a man tool, can't be a woman with one.
I was actually expecting you to give a more intellectual answer, Domm.
But fine. Not anatomically, but at a mental state. I don't think it should be strictly confined to that, though. For me, even if you were a responsible man, and upstanding citizen, and a good dresser, but you were four hundred pounds, you couldn't be a gentleman / man.
man:
manned, man·ning, interjection
–noun
1. an adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman.
2. a member of the species Homo sapiens or all the members of this species collectively, without regard to sex: prehistoric man.
3. the human individual as representing the species, without reference to sex; the human race; humankind: Man hopes for peace, but prepares for war.
4. a human being; person: to give a man a chance; When the audience smelled the smoke, it was every man for himself.
5. a husband.
6. a male lover or sweetheart.
7. a male follower or subordinate: the king's men. He's the boss's number one man.
8. a male employee or representative, esp. of a company or agency: a Secret Service man; a man from the phone company.
9. a male having qualities considered typical of men or appropriately masculine: Be a man. The army will make a man of you.
10. a male servant.
11. a valet.
12. enlisted man.
13. an enthusiast or devotee: I like jazz, but I'm essentially a classics man.
14. Slang. male friend; ally: You're my main man.
15. a term of familiar address to a man; fellow: Now, now, my good man, please calm down.
16. Slang. a term of familiar address to a man or a woman: Hey, man, take it easy.
17. one of the pieces used in playing certain games, as chess or checkers.
18. History/Historical. a liegeman; vassal.
19. Obsolete. manly character or courage.
20. the man, Slang.
a. a person or group asserting authority or power over another, esp. in a manner experienced as being oppressive, demeaning, or threatening, as an employer, the police, or a dominating racial group.
b. a person or group upon whom one is dependent, as the drug supplier for an addict.
Also, the Man.
–verb (used with object)
21. to furnish with men, as for service or defense.
22. to take one's place for service, as at a gun or post: to man the ramparts.
23. to strengthen, fortify, or brace; steel: to man oneself for the dangers ahead.
24. Falconry. to accustom (a hawk) to the presence of men.
–interjection
25. Slang. an expression of surprise, enthusiasm, dismay, or other strong feeling: Man, what a ball game!
—Idioms
26. as one man, in complete agreement or accord; unanimously: They arose as one man to protest the verdict.
27. be one's own man,
a. to be free from restrictions, control, or dictatorial influence; be independent: Now that he has a business he is his own man.
b. to be in complete command of one's faculties: After a refreshing nap he was again his own man.
28. man and boy, ever since childhood: He's been working that farm, man and boy, for more than 50 years.
29. man's man, a man who exemplifies masculine qualities.
30. to a man, with no exception; everyone; all: To a man, the members of the team did their best.
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE man(n); c. G Mann, D man, ON mathr, Goth manna; (v.) ME mannen, OE mannian to garrison]
—Related forms
manless, adjective
man·less·ly, adverb
man·less·ness, noun
manness, noun
—Synonyms Man, male, gentleman are nouns referring to adult human beings who are biologically male; that is, physiologically equipped to initiate conception but not to bear children. Man is the most general and most commonly used of the three; it can be neutral, lacking either favorable or unfavorable implication: a wealthy man; a man of strong character, of unbridled appetites. It can also signify possession of the most typical or desirable masculine qualities: to take one's punishment like a man. Male emphasizes the physical or sexual characteristics of a man; it may also refer to an animal or plant: a male in his prime; two males and three females in the pack; a male of the genus Ilex. In scientific and statistical use, male is the neutral contrastive term to female: 104 females to every 100 males; Among birds, the male is often more colorful than the female. Gentleman, once used only of men of high social rank, now also specifies a man of courtesy and consideration: a real gentleman; to behave like a gentleman. Gentleman is also used as a polite term of reference (This gentleman is waiting for a table) or, only in the plural, of address (Are we ready to begin, gentlemen?). See also manly, male.
—Usage note The use of man1 to mean “human being,” both alone and in compounds such as mankind, has met with objection in recent years, and the use is declining. The objection is based on the idea that man is most commonly used as an exclusive, sex-marked noun meaning “male human being.” Critics of the use of man as a generic maintain that it is sometimes ambiguous when the wider sense is intended (Man has built magnificent civilizations in the desert), but more often flatly discriminatory in that it slights or ignores the membership of women in the human race: The man in the street wants peace, not war.
Although some editors and writers reject or disregard these objections to man as a generic, many now choose instead to use such terms as human being(s), human race, humankind, people, or, when called for by style or context, women and men or men and women.
There is no such thing as a man. You can use it, I use it but only for lack of a better word or perhaps there is no better word as some things can't be named. Having a Penis makes you male a Vagina makes you female though in these modern times even those lines are becoming blurry. But to answer your question my definition of a man(for lack of a better word) is someone despite living in this dream world can stand by his/her convictions and accept at the same time that no one or thing is holding them to him/her because in the grand scheme they are meaningless but for the brief moments of our existence they define us and to betray them is to betray the one life we are granted....
signatures by Hostage Co. <3 ~PoP is DEAD! My sTyLe is Supa-Flat!!~
XemnasXD wrote:There is no such thing as a man. You can use it, I use it but only for lack of a better word or perhaps there is no better word as some things can't be named. Having a Penis makes you male a Vagina makes you female though in these modern times even those lines are becoming blurry. But to answer your question my definition of a man(for lack of a better word) is someone despite living in this dream world can stand by his/her convictions and accept at the same time that no one or thing is holding them to him/her because in the grand scheme they are meaningless but for the brief moments of our existence they define us and to betray them is to betray the one life we are granted....
No, that's what we would call depressed ascetics.
A man to me is when someone realizes they're going to have to put up with a lot of crap in his life and stops whining about everything and just does it and get it over to do more crap.
Last edited by Shadowman20818 on Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Shadowman20818 wrote:A man to me is when someone realizes they're going to have to put up with a lot of crap in their life and stops whining about everything and just does it and get it over to do more crap.
That's one of the things, that I believe, seperates a man from a boy.
XemnasXD wrote:There is no such thing as a man. You can use it, I use it but only for lack of a better word or perhaps there is no better word as some things can't be named. Having a Penis makes you male a Vagina makes you female though in these modern times even those lines are becoming blurry. But to answer your question my definition of a man(for lack of a better word) is someone despite living in this dream world can stand by his/her convictions and accept at the same time that no one or thing is holding them to him/her because in the grand scheme they are meaningless but for the brief moments of our existence they define us and to betray them is to betray the one life we are granted....
No, that's what we would call depressed ascetics.
A man to me is when someone realizes they're going to have to put up with a lot of crap in his life and stops whining about everything and just does it and get it over to do more crap.
No thats what i call my opinion. I know plenty of ppl who have gone through life like that my Father including..but still the way he behaves still seems small petty and hypocritic. Its weird watching someone yell at you like about doing the things you've mentioned when you know he's just venting because its worn him down.
dom wrote:That's one of the things, that I believe, seperates a man from a boy.
or a Woman from a girl, or an adult from a child or man from beast...having responsibilities and dealing with them doesn't make you a man. As a histroy buff you should know of more than a few cowards and cruel men who did their jobs well....
Last edited by XemnasXD on Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
signatures by Hostage Co. <3 ~PoP is DEAD! My sTyLe is Supa-Flat!!~
Loyal, honest, trustworthy.. a gentleman has to know when to be serious, and has to know when to accept the truth, and has to know when to put matters to rest.
If you can't treat your family, friends, signifigant other, or anyone with respect and honor then you aren't a gentleman.
Last edited by Itonami on Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Stop writing traits you'd expect from anyone. Loyalty, honesty, blah blah, I think you'd define how everyone should act with that stuff. A man is a man because of the anatomy, nothing else. Doesn't matter how fruity he is, he's still a man. Same goes for women, no matter how butch you are, you're still a woman.
Responsibility, modesty, politeness, kindness... Everyone should have these traits, not just men. And in most cases they don't anyway. So keep wishing lol.
Last edited by Reise on Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reise wrote:Stop writing traits you'd expect from anyone. Loyalty, honesty, blah blah, I think you'd define how everyone should act with that stuff. A man is a man because of the anatomy, nothing else. Doesn't matter how fruity he is, he's still a man. Same goes for women, no matter how butch you are, you're still a woman.
Responsibility, modesty, politeness, kindness... Everyone should have these traits, not just men. And in most cases they don't anyway. So keep wishing lol.
Yes, fine. I concede to that.
Would the meaning change if I asked you: what defines a gentleman? If so, then please restate your answers. :] Sorry if I wasn't being clear.
Itonami wrote:Loyal, honest, trustworthy.. a gentleman has to know when to be serious, and has to know when to accept the truth, and has to know when to put matters to rest. If you can't treat your family, friends, signifigant other, or anyone with respect and honor then you aren't a gentleman.
)
and from all the ''man joke'' post i would say yes again 
Sowwie!
