Is "being a man" more important to men that "being a woman" is to women?

I really have no idea what "being a woman" might mean to a woman. I could be wrong, but I don't think most women worry too much about it. But I think "being a man" is extremely important to men. And truthfully, I think it should be. I see nothing wrong with having some fundamental beliefs about masculinity and manhood and trying to live up to those beliefs. I think it gets tricky when others try to impose their values with respect to manhood or when others prey on men's insecurities for their own purposes. Men need to take their own pride in being men. I also think it is obvious that many men's ideas with respect to masculinity ARE being threatened. Whether this is a good thing or not is open to debate, but it is a reality that both men and women need to acknowledge. Men have something to offer the world, as men. They should not be shamed because of their gender.

I think so. I have, in my time, worried about whether to act more or less girly, but I've never worried about 'being a woman'. Or if someone said I wasn't a 'real woman' I would just laugh - what's a real woman? I do think that being a woman is a more simple, biological fact - whereas being a man is more a cultural fact - a real man is the breadwinner, a real man looks after his family, a real man wouldn't wear pink, a real man doesn't show emotion, etc - it's less a fact of biology, than a contested cultural ground, and if you don't match up to the criteria, you're not a 'real' man. Surely - being a man just equals being an adult human male? Yet we give it so much more cultural weight than that, for some reason :-)

I think the significance of gender is pretty high to all sexes (including transgendered folk), but on average, it seems to be far more important to men, than to women.

I find it odd that *natural* determinism of gender is so important. The problem with living one's life with a belief that most of what one does, thinks, feels and achieves, is purely chemical (testosterone, or *wiring* as some folk say) in my mind, actually dismisses many positive qualities about a person. To put much of one's personality/achievements etc down to "wiring" rather than *choice* really implies that we are merely animals who respond to instinct.

The problem besides losing sight of personal achievement when basing things on chemicals, is that it can also be used to inform some folk with an explanation for example, of why men rape. For instance, I read an answer 15 mins ago, that suggested that men rape because it's an instinctive response to a woman's appearance. By suggesting this, he is actually underestimating himself and other men in a similar fashion to achievements that aren't recognised as free will or choice. It merely suggests that men are animals and are unable to control their urges. It seems I give men far more credit than he does, b/c he doesn't acknowledge that men *choose* not to rape.

My thoughts are that homophobia encourages this conclusion. Some men are so fearful of being accused of being homosexual, that they believe that exaggerated masculinity "proves" that they are straight and "normal" For many men, accusing them of being gay is seen as a direct insult to their manhood or masculinity. Whereas for women, being called a "lesbian" doesn't have the same profound effect. The reason for this, is becuase traditionally, sexuality and gender has been defined from a male perspective. The benchmark for "normal" determinism, has been defined by men. According to many men, gay male is bad, but lesbian female is "hot".

Things are slowly beginning to change however, and hopefully the ideas of masculinity/feminitity etc will lose their rigourous significance. This will hopefully also mean that transgendered folk will be the victims of hate crimes far less often, and simply considered the "third sex".

I think society puts more pressure on men to "be a man", than it does women to adhere to their cultural role.

We've all heard the term "MAN UP".

Have you ever heard someone tell a woman to suck it up and be a woman?

Woman are free to be whoever they wanna be.

Feminine or butch

Weak or strong

Men are expected to be strong providers...otherwise they are looked down upon, called weak, and turned down by many women.

HOWEVER.... I for one, do fuss over being a woman...on top of my career, and children, my femininity is still one of my main priorities...and always will be....hair, nails, makeup, scent, high heels, stockings, the ability to turn heads, make a man studder and melt like a pool of hot butter is very important to me ;)

Whats up? Are u contemplating a sex change? If so, being a woman is not easy. Be a man whatever that means to you. R u defined by what others think? The roles for both sexes have changed in recent years so lets not be restricted to ideas or opinions.

no, that's stupid. Science have shown that the levels of reproduction can be traced back to asexual reproduction. Man and woman are just two different sexes to provide what the other needs in order to reproduce. It might have been easier just to split the two sexes than keep them together as one unit. Men and women have their advantages and weaknesses in their own ways.

being a man means being confident to act any way you want to and not giving a f*ck what people think or say about it. as long as woman like you or are into you then you accomplish being a real man by getting them to like you no matter how you act. one thing i can't stand is traditional roles of masculinity and the whole macho stereotype. just act how ever you want to act and don't care what people think. that's being a real man.

Oh heavens, surely not. Some men, as well as some women, have a need to prove their "manliness" or "womanliness" or whatever they feel most insecure about. I only wish they realize how little it truly means to the majority of us (both men and women).

People are pretty great, most people anyway, just as they are.

yes this seems to be accurate.

this stems from the fact that men still believe that women are less than them. and they think that now that women are almost equal, it is like having equality with an inferior. that's whats' causing all the macho masculinity business.

women do not worry about womanhood because it is still the lesser of the sexes, so really there's nothing we have to do to protect last place.

I think men generally have a harder time breaking out of traditional standards of masculinity than women do when it comes to femininity. The idea itself hasn't been explored as much as it could have.

If "being a woman" means trying to conform to traditional standards of femininity, then I'm not very good at it.