Speaker 1: Be a man… Took me a while to learn what that meant.
Text: We asked men aged 5-50 to do word association on camera. These are their responses to “be a man.”
Speaker 2, age 5: Act tough.
Speaker 3, age 6: “Be a man.” Hmm…
Speaker 4, age 7: I don’t know what you mean by that.
Speaker 5, age 8: Unafraid.
Speaker 6, age 9: Courage.
Speaker 7, age 10: Strong. Like if somebody dares them to do something and they won’t do it, they say, “Be a man.”
Speaker 8, age 11: Hmm. Awesome.
Speaker 9, age 12: Insult.
Speaker 10, age 13: Older.
Speaker 11, age 14: People have said “be a man” to me, and because I was being a wuss and they were basically telling me to buck up.
Speaker 12, age 15: I feel like that’s kind of sexist when someone says “Be a man.” There’s strong women as well.
Speaker 13, age 16: Strong.
Speaker 14, age 17: Stupid. It’s almost a sexist phrase, too – like if you’re not being a man, it’s kind of saying you’re being a woman in a way, too.
Speaker 15, age 18: Take responsibility.
Speaker 16, age 19: Insulting.
Speaker 17, age 20: Focused. Because to be a man you need to be focused and strong and have a good understanding of the world around you so you can be a better person.
Speaker 18, age 21: Misleading. I’ve learned that being a man doesn’t mean to shut out your feelings, it’s to embrace them.
Speaker 19, age 22: Strong.
Speaker 20, age 23: First word that popped in my head was “derogatory.” A lot of people feel that when you’re telling someone to be something, you’re inherently wrong because people can be anything they want to be.
Speaker 21, age 24: Someone who can be a hero to someone.
Speaker 22, age 25: As long as you own up to it, then you think you define that role.
Speaker 23, age 26: What does that mean? It seems really kind of one-sided, one-dimensional.
Speaker 24, age 27: Remember your duty.
Speaker 25, age 28: Toughen up.
Speaker 26, age 29: Bullshit. What does that even mean? That’s such a vague term, “be a man.” You know what? Classically, men have beat the shit out of women. That’s what men have done. And so, that’s not the man I want to be.
Speaker 27, age 30: Being a man is being responsible; it’s being able to take care of yourself.
Speaker 28, age 31: Tough.
Speaker 29, age 32: Provide. Secure.
Speaker 30, age 33: Pump some iron.
Speaker 31, age 34: To stand up for what you believe in.
Speaker 32, age 35: There’s no real definition of what that is, to be a man, but there is an assumption when someone says it like that, that there is a very clear definition of what men should be.
Speaker 33, age 36: Strength, conviction.
Speaker 34, age 37: Responsibility.
Speaker 35, age 38: Overrated.
Speaker 36, age 39: Who defines what a man is? I mean we all have to walk our own paths. What I consider to make me a man may not be what makes you a man.
Speaker 37, age 40: For me, it’s like hardworking.
Speaker 38, age 41: Strength.
Speaker 39, age 42: Sexist. It’s a very accepted form of sexism. To be the man, it implies that you need to be something specific.
Speaker 40, age 43: Silly.
Speaker 41, age 44: Relative.
Speaker 42, age 45: Honest.
Speaker 43, age 46: Take ownership.
Speaker 44, age 47: Cliché.
Speaker 45, age 48: Choices.
Speaker 1, age 49: Honesty. Being true to yourself and your surroundings, the people you work with, the people you live with, the people you love.
Speaker 46, age 50: Trust your instincts. Be strong. Don’t let people push you around. And be kind to women.
Text: Be a Man.
