masculinity and its changing role

Ok so for this next post I will be looking at traditional masculinity and how it is changing in todays society.

It seems that back in the day, part and parcel of being a man were as follows.

Self sufficiency ( I.E having a job and being a ble to do things for yourself)
Toughness ( ability to take pain and bad feeling . e.g not whining when hurt or sick and of course the ability to hold your liquor)
Hardness ( ability to defend yourself , to fight and hold your own)
emotion only in the right areas.
Fair play ( a sense of justice and fairness)
Politeness to women and others ( open the door, get the bill, lift the heavy bags etc)

There was a time when these virtues were extolled and this was what it meant to be manly. This is not a product of the media and rose tinted looks back. One need only talk to their grand parents or look at old movies to see these qualities were what being manyl was all about.

These days however many of these quality have lost importance. We see bad mixes of them with other combinations.

So what happened to the old kind of man. I myself try to live to this credo as much as i can ( i am not always successfull but i try) and most things I am proud of reveolve around these principles. but these days many ogf the these qualities are seen as unimportant, pointless, old fashioned and backwards. I dont think they are . They way I grew up these where the things that made a man.

for more on this kind of thinking visit this site.
http://artofmanliness.com/

What does it mean to be a man these days. how many of the old view are outdated. or is it all a matter of perspective?

I dont know. what do you think.