*Sigh* I hate those idiots who think that "manly men" can only do certain things.
I like Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, RoadRunner, and Wile E. Coyote.
I like the Mickey Mouse Family, Goofy, Pluto, Peg-leg Pete, and the Duck Family.
Sometimes I even enjoy those Disney animated films.
I probably have a couple hundred Disney comic books.
I'm the biggest Mario and Zelda fan. Mario and Link are my heros. My favorite Mario game is either Super Mario 64 or Super Mario RPG. My favorite Zelda game would have to be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time a.k.a. Zelda 64 (it was the first Zelda game for the N64).
I love the Banjo-Kazooie series. The third one is going to be for the XBOX 360, and that game alone just might make me buy the XBOX 360 (even if I can't play any other games I want on it).
I don't watch television, watch sports, or play sports.
I don't work out as much as I should.
Computers are the greatest thing since sliced bread. If I thought I could spare $8,000, I'd get the ultimate workstation in a heartbeat (Dual Opt. 254s, K8WE, 8GB PC3200R ECC, 2 x 146GB U320 15K 8M/RAID 1, Dual 7800GTX). If you know what that is, great. If not, just believe me when I say that's a very good computer.
But, I'm not so stupid as to think that in the big picture, those things are real. I certainly enjoy them, and there's no reason for me to think that will ever change. But there's definately more to life. I still enjoy going out and spending time with friends.
I don't think any of those things make me less of, or more of a man. A fat man in a wife-beater, jeans, and 50" belt sitting in his Laz-e-boy (tm) watching football while drinking his tenth beer is not more manly than I am (I'm not against beer at all, but I'm sure you get my point).
I believe that "being a man" has to do with attitude.
I'm interested in being the best man that I can be. When I pass people on the street, I want them to say "there goes a good man."
Integrity, being fair and being just means much more to being a man than what his hobbies are.
So is standing up for yourself, and standing for what you honestly believe is right, even if doing so puts you into the minority.
And in my personal opinion, not cheating and being a good family man. I may not have any children now, but if I do later I won't until I have a strong foundation (earning plenty of money, having plenty of money, owning a house and two motorcars, and so on). So in that sense I'm a family man right now.
And let's not forget: To also take charge and lead, and not to take others' crap. It's OK to be a nice guy, just not a "nice guy."
To summarize: To me, being a man is more to do with attitudes and some things that you do. Most things that you do or don't do don't affect whether you are a man or not. Whether you're talking about gamers, businessmen, rock climbers, football players, or sports enthusiasts, you're going to have your pussies, losers, *******s, and jerks.
Ben