MAN LAW

In my last post, regarding the Pussycat Dolls, Dean nicely made a suggestion "An interesting perspective i thought up was, would society do the same if they were males"

...which reminded me of MAN LAW. An (supposedly) universal set of rules of what is and isn't acceptable behaviour and actions of (clearly straight) males.

Or as The Complete Guide to MAN LAW explains it:

"...formerly unwritten components to socially acceptable behaviors and actions of males. These codes of conduct, or “Man Laws” should serve as guide to live life by for all men in Western society."

I first discovered MAN LAW as a Facebook group, in which users can join to promote, support MAN LAW and even give suggestions to new laws. A lot of good humoured and general rules that most men, and women, can agree with, such as rule 32:

32. Under no circumstances shall any man lay a hand on a female or a child in violence. Spanking of a woman's ass or pulling of the hair is permitted if done on request.

While others are uphold for questioning and updating, such as rule 26:

26. All men must eat meat. A shitload of meat. If not borderline carnivore.

Here's one rule I particularly like:

87. When in a public shower, no man will look below the shoulders. Also, no eye-to-eye contact for more than one second is allowed. If eye contact occurs, nod upwards, and look away.

The details in the rule really amuses me.

Before any bandwagon/dyslexic feminist bites my head off - this group is clearly not promoting sexism or men as the better gender. In my opinion MAN LAW shows that females aren't the only gender that is suffering from sexuality confusion.

The roles of males have also been socially changing where nowadays men aren't as entitled to be 'masculine' as they were before. A good example is the birth of the metrosexual, a straight man who holds strong concern with his appearance and behaves similarly to a stereotypical gay man.

First popularised by David Beckham and then followed suit by other celebrities (like Brad Pitt),
metrosexuals have become a new type of male in our social lives. Metrosexuality has created a new field for males to frolic and openly express their interest in fashion, home economics, their hair and other interests and behaviour that were previously condemned as abnormal in a traditional male role.

Yet, does it mean being a metrosexual is socially acceptable?

Of course not, while some people embrace metrosexuality, many are still against it. I am talking both males and females here. A lot of men certainly don't embrace metrosexuality which can be seen by rule 34.

34. No man shall ever watch a soap opera ever! Period! If this law is broken, it will result in the lowering of status from man to Manbitch and the questioning of the liking of opposite gendered relationships.

Also, not all females like the idea of a man that worries more about their appearance than them. I , for one, certainly don't like the idea of my boyfriend being prettier than me.

Which then leads to the question of what makes a male a 'man'? Should a male religiously follow the traditional expectations of their culture? Is it still socially acceptable for a male to worry about their appearance? (After all, you have to look good to feel confident) What about their hair?

This is where MAN LAW comes in to clarify the details. Establish what makes a man a 'man' once and for all. When you look at the list, a lot of it is referring to the mainstream, traditional expectation of the 'male role' with many references of what is considered masculine and what isn't.

But if you follow the origins of MAN LAW, it all began as a commercial selling Miller Lite Beer. Does this mean, much like femininity, masculinity has also become a product? This commercial uses male sexuality as a prop to help sell beer. Does this mean a man is considered a 'man' by liking/drinking beer, particularly Miller Lite?

Regardless of the sexuality confusion 'masculinity', I have to say there is a key difference. The role of males have been consistent, while females are radically changing. The male gender is still considered dominant with families in China and India still being pressured to reproduce boys, majority of the world's top positions are held by men, and males significantly have a higher income than females.

Male sexuality is still alive, while female sexuality is dead.

I remember a friend telling me how you can see the development in sexuality through fashion. The women's business clothes are always different - from long skirts, knee-length skirts to pants - while men's business clothes have always been the suit.

For one thing, I love a man in a suit, but I also love a man who has good hair and smells nice.

On a side note, there is also a Facebook community called WOMAN LAW, created in good humoured reaction towards MAN LAW. Just like the original group, a lot of general rules that both sexes can agree on while there are still some that should be held for questioning and updating.