Guest Post: When Does a Boy Become A Man?
Written by: Tim
22 April 20107,477 views3 Comments
There are lot of theories floating around about what it actually means for a boy to become a man. I thought that the man institute could use a quick rundown. Maybe we can finally get to the bottom of this great mystery.
1. When you turn 18.
At least this is what the law says. When you turn 18 you are legally an adult and can be tried in court as one. So I guess that completely technically speaking, this is the right moment. This is the moment when a boy becomes vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the court systems. This is when your actions have the potential to trigger dire consequences. Perhaps that’s just what it means to be a man.
2. When you get “laid” for the first time.
Proponents of this point of view seem to think that life is about sex, as it leads to procreation (and more life). And if this is the case, your first lay is a good marker. But then again, many boys have sex for the first time as young as 15, long before they are able to nurture young, let alone take care of themselves, introducing some complication into this theory. Does sex really make you grow up? Maybe not, take advantage of your youth now because eventually you’ll have to buy Viagra.
3. When you move out of your parents’ house.In my opinion, this is one of the best places to draw the line. Once you start supporting yourself financially, your manhood had better kick in. Otherwise you’ll have your creditors taking on the role of parental discipline, and the last thing you want is an angry creditor doling out spankings on your rear end!
4. When you learn to fix your own toilet.
Our good friend Harvey Pekar would make this suggestion, and truly he has, as brilliantly demonstrated in an old issue of American Splendor. There is just something so undeniably manly about the plunging, sweating, and groaning required to de-clog a toilet. So much so, that never having done it, you hardly have the right to claim the title of “man.”
5. When you buy your first dutch oven.
This may seem a little out of place on this list, but think about it for a minute or two and it makes sense. No man buys a dutch oven unless he is completely committed to cooking his food in it over and over and over again for several years. Your average dutch oven costs as much as $300, meaning a man can only buy one if he can see the value that it will bring to him for the next several years. Unless this hypothetical man can imagine himself in five years, he will not be able to justify this investment in cookingware. As an acknowledgement of the importance of the future on his happiness in the present, nothing can push a boy closer to manhood than the purchase of a dutch oven. Period! Just look at that manly hunk of cast iron!
BY: http://www.maninstitute.com/?p=1624
