Males 5-50 give their responses on what it means to be a man
A word assocition video asking men and boys aged between 5 and 50 what it means to “be a man” has gone viral after the intersting responses shed light on how people interpret the phase in modern society
The video (see above) by Cut.com touched upon the historic male phrase which boys and men often hear throughout their lives in the form of ‘man up’ or ‘be a man’. It elected some powerful responses which saw many of the respondent’s challenge the age-old phrase.
The majority of the young children gave responses such as act tough, strong and unafraid.However, many respondents in their teenage years and above interpreted the phase as dated and sexist. One man said that the phrase was “misleading” because he had learned that “being a man doesn’t mean to shut out your feelings, it’s to embrace them”. Another man felt that it was “derogatory because a lot of people feel that when you’re telling someone to be something you are inherently wrong because people can be anything they want to be.”
The video’s differing opinions and the positive and negative relationships with the phrase has proven to be hugely popular, gaining over 150,000 views in under two days as well as many comments with people discussing expectations of gender roles.
The approach follows a recent trend in the advertising sector addressing sexuality and gender specific roles. P&G's latest ‘Like A Girl' ad campaign for Always looks at gender limitations placed on girls at a young age and how it effects their confidence at crucial stages in their development.