Redditors Share Stories Of Positive Masculinity

When they embrace the best of both worlds

"I’m a figure skater. We share the ice with hockey players, and I cannot get over how nice it feels when hockey players get rowdy and bang on the glass and cheer when you’re doing something cool, the same way a hockey fan would at an exciting hockey game. It’s hilarious but it’s also confidence-inducing.

When it first happened, I thought they were trolling me. I just rolled my eyes and continued my practice. But when I got off the ice, I was swarmed with questions like:

“HOW DO YOU DO ALL THAT WITHOUT PADDING OR A HELMET?!”

“HOW DO YOU LAUNCH YOURSELF INTO THE AIR LIKE THAT?”

“AREN’T YOU AFRAID OF FALLING?”

“DON’T YOU GET DIZZY SPINNING THAT FAST?”

It’s wholesome as fuck. They’re genuinely intrigued by this sport. A bunch of dudes who make their own sport even more entertaining by beating the shit out of each other have no shame in getting rowdy to hype up their figure skating counterparts.

EDIT: Thank you guys for the awards!! I love sharing these types of wholesome experiences with anyone who will listen!"

When big bros have your back

"My big brother was tough on me growing up as many big brothers are. People without brothers would call it toxic and maybe it was. But my brother was there for me through my hardest moments and he’s there for me during my best.

He works at a large company and got me an internship when I was in college. I was nervous and the culture at the company was aggressive. My brother would take me into meeting rooms and give me hype talks on a frequent basis, we thought we were “big men”.

At the end of my internship, I was asked to give a presentation in front of around 50 people (senior leadership) on my work during the summer. I prepared a presentation but was horrified. An hour before my presentation, he pulled me into a meeting room and had me present to him. At the end, he said you’re going to kill it. He then handed me a gift that had a Mont Blanc pen inside of it with a note and told me to hold it during my presentation. We both cried and hugged.

This meeting room was an all-glass room. Lol.

Side note: many years later I am still working (full-time) at this same company."

New one for the watchlist?

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

Another user agreed and shared this story

"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."

When they show the gentlest of care

"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"

When your gym bros have got you...bro

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

Strap in for a long story. We promise it's worth it

"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."

Some guardian angels are just hairy and sweaty

"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.

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."

When they do good you remember decades later

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

When squats is your love language and you know how to express it

"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, whereas 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."

The bro that puts in the miles and shares the smiles

"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

Edit: My first award! thank you kind stranger"

Positive masculinity is confident masculinity, even if you're not the one holding the wrench

"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."

"You okay bro?" "Yeah bro"

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

When in doubt pinky out

"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."

You can activate dad mode but not everyone can deactivate it

"Not sure if this counts… but my stepdad 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."

Positive masculinity calls out toxic masculinity.

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

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