/lit/ - Literature

>>13549858
very few of the things in your stupidly long list are special. many many masculine guys feel many of them. being a man is often about pretending to not feel these things, which ofc comes with its own set of mental health issues, but with a lower suicide rate than transgender

you write about having naturally submissive body language. i know many dudes, who would be called 'Chad' by posters on this board, who have consciously practised confident body language over many years, along with things like forcing themselves to competitively argue even when they don't care or feel insecure, forcing themselves to seem uncaring about compliments, practising consciously stopping tears, etc.

when i was like twelve i was convinced my pain threshold was too low, so i cut myself while trying not to wince. i did this several times. a friend of mine, who holds a very powerful position in a company rn, described to me when he was at a similar age and was ashamed of being scared of the dark, so he climbed out of his bedroom window and wandered his countryside neighbourhood (i.e. streetlights turn off at midnight) alone, while concentrating on acting fearless.

masculine gender performance is predicated on the same insecurities that you write about, but you are too cowardly to confront them.

you inherit your parents' traumas but you needn't cling to them.