Positive Masculinity: What Does It Look Like?

"We hear a lot about toxic masculinity, but what are your favourite examples of positive masculinity?"

A redditor asked for examples of 'positive masculinity' where bros were just being bros and the community came together to share some stories that were wholesome AF.

"I once watched a couple episodes of the reality show Forged in Fire, which I felt had tons of examples of healthy masculinity."

One reply said, "Yep, I remember seeing an episode where a big, older, more experienced guy saw his opponent struggling to twist some metal because he wasn’t heavy enough to apply the necessary force. Big guy stopped his own work just to help little guy. Ended up being eliminated because he didn’t have time to finish his own blade. Wasn’t upset or anything, just congratulated the little guy and walked out. With $10,000 on the line, it takes true integrity and positive masculinity to do something like that for a fellow craftsman."

This is what positive masculinity looks like.

"My brother would sing quietly to our mother in the nursing home when she no longer knew him because of dementia. He would brush her hair and wipe her face with a warm flannel to comfort her. It was beautiful."

They're like buff fairy godmothers.

"Gym bros randomly appearing to spot or encourage is hilarious and positive."

Real bros look out for one another.

"I had a boss that was a real muscle head, but every time someone was having a bad/rough time he'd suggest we take a long lunch and go with him to the gym. He did this with multiple co-workers, taught a lot of us how to properly squat and deadlift. This was like 7 years ago, and I still squat and deadlift regularly, where as before I would simply just use the treadmill and maybe the circuit room at the gym. Not saying I'm in peak physical condition, but certainly in a better spot after him helping."

That's just the first rule of truck ownership

"Using pickup trucks to help others out,

Need help moving? In the Ditch? Stuck in the snow? Gimme 5 mins to throw some pants on and I'm there"

This story is one of our favs

"A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, I was a 13-year-old girl alone on a Greyhound bus Florida to Georgia. Was on that stupid bus for 2 days. For the first 4 hours, the creepiest hobo in the universe sat next to me, playing with himself and randomly trying to grab me. Who was 13 years old and alone on the bus.

Then these two guys who were going all the way to Washington State and were going to be on that bus for 4 days to get to a logging job, boarded the bus. One was a 17-year-old kid and the other one was a 45 year old man."

Guardian angels that came out of nowhere

"They ousted the hobo and sat with me the rest of the way, the 17-year-old sharing stories about growing up in Miami in a very intolerant Latino household, and the 45-year-old Man spent that time showing me pictures of his daughters and telling me all about them and how hard he was working to make sure they had everything they needed. They made sure I got dinner that night, they made sure I got breakfast the next morning, and they made sure that I safely made it from the bus to the main campus of Georgia tech University, for the stupid ”future engineering” teen conference I had to go to."

Need to have a chat with the mom though. What was she thinking?

"That trip could have been a horror story for me at the tender age of 13 (I do not know how in the world my mother thought this was safe in any way, to send me to Georgia by myself on a Greyhound bus at 13), but those two dudes? They were, to put it simply, my hairy and sweaty guardian angels.

Norwegian blonde dude and Latino kid, it has been decades since this went down, but I still remember you both and always will."

Prevailing in life or death situations and remembering that we're all just humans.

"The Brown-Stigler Incident. A German Bf-109 pilot (Stigler) not only spared a crippled American B-17 (Brown), he escorted it out of German airspace. Botb men survived the war and became close friends until their deaths."

An example of toxic and positive masculinity all in one go

"So, a couple months into dating my boyfriend he bought a truck. Well, it started making a grinding noise a few weeks later. Some context, I'm a female mechanic. So, when I went over that weekend I offered to take a look at it.

We did some grocery shopping for supper. And then when we got back I started to work on it. He made supper. And then when he was done he came out and sat with me.

My ex wouldn't even let me work on his truck with him because he didn't like that I knew more about it then him. And when I first met my Bf he told everyone we met that I was a mechanic."

Just being a grown-up about these situations in general

"Being able to move on from a fight and become friends again."

It's always wholesome when dad mode kicks in

"Manly dads who patiently sit on the floor and have a tea party with their toddler daughters.

Edit: So refreshing to see all the comments from daughters and my fellow dads. I miss those days but proud that I never said no."

If only there were wholesome dudes for every creep out there.

'My husband switching seats on an airline with a teenage girl being harassed by an old creep. Hes very large, bearded, and wears metal t-shirts. He plopped down next to creeper and said "you said you were buying drinks?""

Cause dads are just gonna dad

"Not sure if this counts… but my step dad would still come pick up my sister and I every single weekend even though we weren’t really his kids. Growing up my mom and him would break up sometimes and he said to us one day; I may not be y’all’s biological father but I will always be y’all’s dad regardless. They eventually married and are 30+ years strong today. He’s the best man I know."

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