What has happened to men?

George Carlin refered to it as" The Continued pussification of the American Male". and I think it is getting worse. I work in New York city or as I like to refer to it " freak central" and I swear men have started to carry purses! Not breif cases or computer bages, purses. I'm not homophobic, these are straight men.

There are certain skills I believe every man should know, Mechanics Illustrated listed 100 of them and I'll bet alot of these guys can't do 2.

Example) I have a tenant that asked if I could make the domestic water hotter. No problem "I'll walk you through it over the phone". Not possible, he coudn't find the red dial on the gas valve. So I had to drive 32 miles, pay $12 in tolls to turn a dail a qaurtet turn to the left. While I was there he asked me to change a light bulb. A FRIGGIN LIGHT BULB! Was not embarssed in the least while his wife looked on.

I used to do a lot of service work and was amazed at what people would have me do. Changing light bulbs were in the top 25%. No need for a long ladder, just a light bulb change standing on a step stool. All because their father didn't take the time to show them basic skills.

I remember going into an apartment to do a renovation for some Japanese girls who were going to school nearby. While I was there, I noticed they had a respectably stocked tool box and a Dewalt drill. When I asked about it they told me their father had given it to them and taught them how to repair certain things that might go wrong in an apartment. Amazing.

I cook the meals, watch the kids, change diapers and buy all the groceries. As for all that other stuff, isn't that what wives are for?

Wow...I think this is an extreme example. I have yet to hang out with any guy that doesn't perform his own car maintenance (rebuild tranny, change oil, change brake pads etc) and do ALL of their own home maintenance, to include building our own basements. I guess you need to move out of the city man.

I don't know any "metro" kind of guys. Even though some guys I know (like Bob) aren't real mechanically inclined, they can do some basic easy repairs.

I wish I would have paid attention to my dad fixing stuff when I was a kid. I'm trying to learn now. I have a mechanical mind, and I enjoy fixing things, but I don't know the basic skills. In the last couple of weeks, I've had a friend teach me how to change a faucet, repair a leaky faucet, do some easy copper soldering, basic wiring (re-wiring a lamp), etc.

Last weekend I fixed a guy friend's vacuum cleaner and a piece of farm machinery (a pull-behind disc) on the same day.

(PS- I can do everything on that "men's list! I am a former paramedic, former military, current grandmother)

I don't see how you connect men carrying purses with another person's inability to change a light bulb. Unless, of course your woefully inadequate tenant is a flagrant purse carrier. More likely though, he is just of the mind that it's your property and wants you to be the one to do the maintenance. I've been a landlord a few times. Some tenants can be real dicks.

Here's the link.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/skills/4281414

Check out number 17....at least we got that covered!

i agree that you need to get out of the city. i live int a small house with awesome landlords, but i still do most of the work around the house (voluntarily) fixing the fence, plumbing, painting, etc. most guys i know aren't arfaid to get their hands dirty on their cars, i've never paid to have any work done on my car. ive done everything from installing an alarm to changing the clutch. and i'm passing these kinds of skills on to my 6 year old neice. she taught herself how to take the training wheels off her bike, so i've been teaching her abouttools and walking her through any repairs that need to be done on it.

I just sanded a floor for a customer. The woman of the house installed it! WTF is going on here? I would let my wife near a saw or nailer. Pittsburgh is probably not that bad tho. I haven't seen man purses. Men still wear mustaches around here ffs.

Soperbrew said:

I cook the meals, watch the kids, change diapers and buy all the groceries. As for all that other stuff, isn't that what wives are for?

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Poolside blowjobs? Exactly. Yeah I do the cooking too. I am terrible at watching the kids even though I do it.

I have to come clean. I don't work on the car too much. I have done a lot of work on cars but I hate it. Would rather pay someone to do it. We have a good mechanic that doesn't overcharge. Hell with it.

Beezy said:

I have to come clean. I don't work on the car too much. I have done a lot of work on cars but I hate it. Would rather pay someone to do it. We have a good mechanic that doesn't overcharge. Hell with it.

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I'm in the same boat.. I can do the work, I've done more than my share of automotive jobs - but my time is worth more most days. I've done clutches, replace struts and springs, replace alternator, and rebuilt my KTM (new top end, didn't do any of the machining - but I pulled it apart, sent the parts in and put it back together). The moto I enjoyed since it didn't matter when I finished it so I could take my time.
I can do most of the things on that list, except welding.. never owned a welder - would definitely be a good skill to have though. I think "snake a drain" should be on that list, I've probably saved hundreds of dollars in plumber fees with that skill.

Stop hanging out with hipsters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LRecos7TcA0

I've been to friend's ($$) apartments here in the city, and the super does EVERYTHING. "light is out, call the super"

Dude, spend $1 and get a four pack of lightbulbs.

I personally can't stand paying someone to do something I can do. Especially if I can do it as well as a 'professional.'

B

Yooper said:

I am a former paramedic, former military, current grandmother

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Oh, sure, NOW you admit it. . .

I went through the 100 things, I can say I have them all covered, even the lightning one, I was struck as a child so I know how to deal with that!

azscoob said:

I went through the 100 things, I can say I have them all covered, even the lightning one, I was struck as a child so I know how to deal with that!

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How do you "deal" with being struck by lightning....die?

mcaple1 said:

How do you "deal" with being struck by lightning....die?

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I think its more prevention of said incidence so not sure poster has that figured out

I have a lot of those sorted. I grew up on a farm and was a boyscout. Hunted and fished and all that crap. My kids are growing up in the city. They might not know half of it. But would like to get them into boyscouts. You never know when that kinda stuff comes in handy. Building fires, cooking over said fire, camping, knot tying, all good stuff.

I had an ex roommate who wanted to call our apartment complex's maintenance crew because the toilet was broken. You know what the problem was? THE LID WAS LOOSE! I walked in, tightened the plastic wing nuts with my hand, and left the bathroom completely flabbergasted. His response? "What, it's their job to do this kind of stuff."


I by no means claim to be an overly handy person...but I don't understand the mentality of some people who don't at least attempt basic home repairs, especially nowadays when we've got the internet at our disposal. I bet I've saved my work at least a thousand bucks in labor between all of the tiny repairs I've done. Granted, my boss doesn't directly see the money going out to the contractors, he just signs, corporate approves, and it's a tiny line item on his P&L statement at the end of the year. Personally I'm sickened when I see a $350 plumber visit to replace a $4 part that can be easily found at Lowe's.

I cant do anything around the house more complicated than changing bulbs. But I can keep myself and 10 people alive in the woods for months if I had to, so I think it evens out

Airborneguy said:

I cant do anything around the house more complicated than changing bulbs. But I can keep myself and 10 people alive in the woods for months if I had to, so I think it evens out

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I'm not sure it does.

My customers are mostly pansies too. I've had to show more than 5 how to operate a hose spicket. I had one last week to carry her 10lb bag of dog food in. It's pure laziness.

We have had plenty of customers freak out over a tripped breaker. Come back the next day, there are no lights in my basement OMG should I call the electrician. JFC.

This same topic came up on the other forum that I was addicted to. Their expectation is that you are not a man unless you weight at least 200lbs, bench squat and deadlift 1, 1.5 and 2 times your bodyweight respectively (and if you don't realize, those are pretty low standards). So how well do you all man up now?

SwampassJ said:

My customers are mostly pansies too. I've had to show more than 5 how to operate a hose spicket. I had one last week to carry her 10lb bag of dog food in. It's pure laziness.

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Its time to grow up and be a homeowner.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I'm not sure it does.

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Why learn house stuff when you can live without one? Besides, I don't pay anyone, my FIL and mother's boyfriend are super-handymen and do it all for my beer.

MazdaMatt said:

This same topic came up on the other forum that I was addicted to. Their expectation is that you are not a man unless you weight at least 200lbs, bench squat and deadlift 1, 1.5 and 2 times your bodyweight respectively (and if you don't realize, those are pretty low standards). So how well do you all man up now?

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Well I'm under 200lbs, but can easily hit those other marks. I'd prefer to judge by pull-ups and pushups though because that shows real strength, and endurance. Picking a set amount of weight up one time means nothing.

MazdaMatt said:

This same topic came up on the other forum that I was addicted to. Their expectation is that you are not a man unless you weight at least 200lbs, bench squat and deadlift 1, 1.5 and 2 times your bodyweight respectively (and if you don't realize, those are pretty low standards). So how well do you all man up now?

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Im not calling anyone names but I know lots of muscle bound morons

mcaple1 said:

Here's the link.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/skills/4281414

Check out number 17....at least we got that covered!

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I have a bit of a problem with the "teach your kids" section. I never taught my son to throw a spiral, but he has a helluva fastball, changeup, and knuckleball.

Airborneguy said:

and do it all for my beer.

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bartering, are you?

Airborneguy said:

Well I'm under 200lbs, but can easily hit those other marks. I'd prefer to judge by pull-ups and pushups though because that shows real strength, and endurance. Picking a set amount of weight up one time means nothing.

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Yeah, when I was 115lbs 14 year old I could do pushups and pullups all day. They are an extremely poor measure of a person's strength. There is no purer measure of strength, IMO, than a deadlift. There's a big weight on the floor, can you pick it up, or not? Every other lift has a huge element of skill, but a deadlift is just a pure, raw expression of strength.

Clann said:

Im not calling anyone names but I know lots of muscle bound morons

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I should have added that not only was the popular mechanics list well valued on that same thread, but so was home ownership (in the handle-it-all-yourself definition) and being a "family man".

MazdaMatt said:

They are an extremely poor measure of a person's strength. There is no purer measure of strength, IMO, than a deadlift.

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I'll give you the deadlift, but not the other two. Bench press looks nice, and makes your chest big, but translates into nothing in the real world. Leg strength certainly matters overall, but the actual squat movement is not something that one finds themselves needing to do often either. But you're right, lifting weight off the ground is a measure of strength in a way that we actually do use it often. Pull-ups are a great measure of upper body strength, and like I said, show endurance. I'd rather be in a fight with a dude who can bench 400lbs once than with a guy who can do 30 pullups.

AZ_IPA said:

bartering, are you?

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I had to keep it non-debate forum friendly, but uh... you got the point

Yeah, we're on the same page... at least we can agree that being a man means you don't have to ask an old woman for help carrying in your groceries

Those particular strength requirements came from a beginner's powerlifting site, so clearly they're biased.

MazdaMatt said:

...at least we can agree that being a man means you don't have to ask an old woman for help carrying in your groceries

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Yeah, that's just weird. If I ever knew if a "guy" who did that I'd probably puke.

I only qualify for 38 out of 100 on that list (in my own opinion, obviously), but as a 25yo student, I'm almost shut out of about 30 of them (the tool ownership and teach your kid part), as I don't have a kid (although I can do all of that easily enough myself ), nor much of a need for all those tools yet, and if I need a tool, my father's a retired contractor, and my brother's a carpenter, so they will almost definitely have what I need anyways (except for some automotive tools.) The tools I do have are mostly for electronics stuff, like a soldering iron, heat gun, wire strippers, crimpers, small screwdrivers, pin removers, etc.

But I actually just got one of the listed tools on Friday, #100, when I went out and bought my own feeler gauge. It probably wasn't what they meant though, as I bought it to set the gap on my Barley Crusher grain mill rather than to use for spark plugs or anything automotive . Speaking of which, #17 should probably be adjusted to homebrew beer from grain (or at least unhopped extract). I can just imagine some guy who used a Coopers kit once seeing that, and thinking, "I've done that!!!" despite it really not being "homebrewing" any more than throwing some Pillsbury cookies in the oven is "baking".

Interestingly enough, the categories I absolutely ace are handling emergencies, medical myths (the name is apt, and most people would probably think they get these points even if they're very wrong... eg, sucking the venom out of a snakebite), primitive skills, surviving extremes, and, oddly in a completely different direction, technology - which I could literally do blindfolded, except for taking the perfect portrait, calibrating an HDTV, and shooting a home movie, since those are all meant to produce visual results. The hardest thing in that section though is probably installing a graphics card, and the vast majority of people will say they can't do it, but I think people might just find it intimidating and not even bother trying (and risk ruining their expensive computer), as in my opinion it's probably harder to somehow mess it up than do it right.

And then a good chunk of the rest of my points come from the Home section, some of which is interesting because a lot of manly men would scoff at the idea of using a sewing.machine, but it's a great skill to have. My family was never poor, but I remember as a little kid having way more fun making my own stuffed animals than with ones that were simply bought. I don't understand how folding a flag is such a crucial skill (and admittedly don't know the "right" way to do it), but I'm guessing it's just an American thing

emjay...I think it's more of a "can you teach your kid that" not "did you teach your kid that"....hypothetical...could you teach someone elses kid to ride a bike. There you go...winning.

Oh okay, 49 then

I feel I can do a lot of handy stuff around the house. I fix most things around here that need fixing and I think that I am pretty handy, but two things I don't mess with are electrical problems (other than changing a light switch) and car stuff. I have never been a car guy so I know next to nothing about them, so working on them is pretty intimidating. Other than that, if I know I won't totally screw it up, i'll give fixing anything a shot.

i got 48 for sure lol

I built my own smoker out of a steel drum, **** the list.

chest-beating thread.

One thing that is not my strong suite. It's sports... Well I am pretty awesome at watching them on the couch but my athletic skills are pretty sorry tbh.

passedpawn said:

chest-beating thread.

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Ok, here comes my Tarzan yell..........(which I'm very good at also, BTW!)