Man's Role

"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions." Leonardo da Vinci

Some women feel a “Real Man” doesn’t exist, that he is impossible to find. Other women do not want someone like him. On the other hand, some men think they are the very definition of a “Real Man.” Other men feel there is no such thing.

Technically, the man is supposed to be the head of the household; however, in today’s world, women work just as hard as men, so the traditional roles are often blurred. Nowadays women make just as much money.

It would be very easy to draw up a list and apportion roles to both parties, but the truth is that marriage has evolved over the years and roles are seen as complementary rather than owned by one part in the relationship.

Generally speaking, a man's role is to lead the family and the woman's role it to be the nurturer. People tend to get offended by that statement because they don't understand how important each part plays in the stability of the relationship. Which means much more than that! A man should also contribute to the emotional, spiritual, physical and mental well-being of his family. In order to do this, he must recognize that there are other currencies, in addition to money, that need to be provided.

Big part of the problem blurring this line nowadays is that many people aren't even quite sure what a healthy relationship looks like these days or how a 'good man' (or woman) should act towards their partner.

While a relationship shouldn't be someone's entire life, it's certainly a large part of it. For some, being in a relationship is tough. Men have certain things that they should do, and the same can be said for women too.

We all want to find a meaningful relationship. Men and women have the same basic need to be loved and cared for, though men and women often show their love differently. In a perfect world, both partners in a relationship would share each important role in a relationship equally. But in reality, the chips rarely fall into such neat order.

Men and women often differ in the roles they take on in their relationships. Ultimately, men and women have more similarities than differences, which is why many relationships are happy ones lasting for years. The more aware men and women can become of what makes each gender unique, the better male-female relationships will be in the future. In other words, there could still hope!

Sigmund Freud famously asked: “What do women want?” But men have been pondering this question since the dawn of, well, man.

Here’s a novel yet simple idea: Why not ask them? Really listen to what they have to say. You may start to see some general themes emerge the more you ask.

The relationship between women and men and their roles in society has been a touchy subject for well over a century now. That’s not surprising. Our gender is a core part of who we are. We identify ourselves as male or female, and that colors everything we think, feel, say, and do. If we are confused about our sexual identity, it spreads confusion over our whole life. And when we feel blocked or trapped because of our sex, it can create intense frustration and anger. Why should our whole life be determined by whether we happened to be born male or female?

When it comes to religion, gender roles are an especially loaded issue. It’s one thing if we humans have set up a system in which there are certain expectations of women and different expectations of men. But if our religion says that God has set things up so that women and men are obliged to play certain roles, it takes the struggle over this issue to a whole new level.

"What men call gallantry, and gods adultery, is much more common where the climate's sultry." Lord Byron

In today’s society, gender roles are in flux. Today's absent father, either from long hours of work or divorce, means many boys grow up without a strong male role model. Women deal with similar confusion when it comes to gender roles because they want to be respected, but they also want to feel protected and cared for in a relationship.

Come to think about it, a man's role should be construed as what a woman expect, need and desire him to be. It is pretty much what a woman's role could be in return.

All along, much of the problem has been a matter of 'convoluted tenets' and 'social impositions', leading to false expectations and diversion of priorities that have stripped the most fundamental elements of a couple's relationship away, those being simply put: "caring and sharing"!

Food for thought!