While modern day feminism sweeps the world, sometimes men find themselves a little emasculated. The very patriarchal society was built on men as powerful carers for subordinate women, and although women’s worlds are changing, men are still expected to fulfill certain roles. These can be challenging and not making the cut can make you feel emasculated and bring down your self-esteem. While everyone should be working on becoming a better human, rather than bowing to antiquated gender ideals, sometimes falling short to these male expectations can be tough. Here are a few ways you feel emasculated and what to do to help.
Your pay packet
Men are expected to be the breadwinners in the family. While it is not uncommon for women to earn more than men these days, some men struggle with this fact. Especially when it comes to relaying this to your friends and your father figures, trying to explain that your woman earns more can make you feel a little wimpy. However, this is nothing to be embarrassed about and taking on other non-traditional roles such as childcare and domestic work will only build a tighter bond with your partner.
Being friendzoned
While many men have female friends, if you have your eye on a girl who just doesn’t see you that way, it can be heartbreaking and a blow to your masculine prowess. This can be especially true if she likens you to a brother, a puppy, or her closest girl friend. All of these things make you feel less adult and masculine than you would normally feel. In this situation, you just have to accept the rebuff of your affections and seek comfort elsewhere.
Not being strong enough
While this may seem exceptionally cliche, there is something degrading about not being able to open the jar that your girlfriend just handed you. The idea of having superior strength goes well back to our evolutionary roots, so this is not unusual to feel this way. There are two ways to conquer this feeling. You can accept your limit and find other ways open those pesky jars, or you can work on building your muscle mass.
Not doing a typically male career
If you’re not a banker or a lawyer, a builder or a carpenter, you may feel that your more feminine job makes you the source of male ridicule. However, many men do more stereotypically feminine jobs these days, like nursing, hairdressing, and childcare. Showing the nurturing and creative side of your personality is not a flaw and should not make you feel emasculated. Instead, try to focus on what makes you good at those jobs and what makes you feel good about doing them. This will boost your self-esteem.
Going floppy
Sometimes you just can’t get it to rise. Thhis could be due to tiredness, pressure, booze, or any number of things. However, it happens to the best of us at one time or another. Embarrassing as it is, a quick explanation to the woman can sort the whole thing out. Remember that women tend to be more emotionally in tune and won’t ridicule. Maybe try not to tell your guy friends about it.
Feeling emasculated is something that guys experience more than once throughout their lives. The societal pressure around ‘being a man’ makes you feel like you need to ‘man up’ all the time. If you are really concerned, you can try Xtreme Testosterone to boost your testosterone levels, giving you that more manly feeling. This will helps to lower cortisol levels that cause anxiety when you feel emasculated.
