Macho Man

It permeates society from advertising to driving. It causes wars but also discoveries. It leads to conflict but also acts of bravery. Machismo. The scourge and also blessing of all men.

All males feel the need to be macho. Some of us only need to display it occasionally, some view it as a required constant lifestyle. We can't help it, it's partly due to testosterone, partly due to upbringing.

If someone pushes you or calls you a name, your testosterone kicks it up a notch and you respond. When you were a kid and you tripped rounding first base and smashed your nose and you began to cry, your coach would extol you to be a man and get up and keep going.

Oh, I should point out that this only relates to the majority of us guys, not “the other team” (clever Seinfeld reference) since I don't play for them and don’t know their macho status. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Macho is observed in many forms and styles as well as degree.

You see it a lot while out driving. Of course road rage is an obvious and extreme extension, but there are other indicators. For example, I notice it all the time when I attempt to pass someone who's going slow only to discover he's sped up as soon as I make my move. Similar to that, is the driver who wants to get into your lane but wants to do it in front of you, not behind. Even if there is no traffic behind you, the guy will smash the pedal to the metal to get ahead of you.

I admit to my own displays of macho. Although I have no problem merging behind someone in traffic, I’ll be damned if I let a guy in if it looks to me like he's trying to jump in line because he didn't want to wait. Such as when the right lane is obviously closed ahead but instead of getting in the long line to left, this guy speeds ahead and darts into the lane further ahead. Macho.

I display my machoness by wearing clothes that I think are manly, albeit not fashionable. Yeah, you'll find an array of flannel shirts in my closet.

As you might expect, we guys get macho around women. There are the super macho guys who'll get in a fight over a woman (not me) to the guys who will stand around trying to look macho (yeah, that's me with a hand in his pocket while holding a drink, leaning against a wall disinterested in life. Subtle, right?).
   
So there are all sorts of different machismo that you may encounter in us guys. I should point out that I blogged about a similar phenomenon in our aggressive competitiveness, which is a little bit different. No matter the variety though, if it offends you or is something you don't appreciate just ignore the guy or move farther away. However, don't verbally confront him, his machoness may kick into high gear and then who knows?

 Ah, James Thurber (who was macho)