#authentic masculinity

[adhdtimelord]

"There is no universe where Andrew Tate is useful to anybody except Andrew Taste's mental illness. That's the only person who wants more Andrew Tate is Andrew Tate's psychosis.

"The only reason we are sold Andrew Tate is Andrew Tate is the only version of masculinity you can buy. You can buy a gym membership, you can buy a fancy haircut, you can buy oil to smoosh all over your abs, ... but you have to earn the Tim Walz.

"You have to be there, you have to show up for people, you have to care genuinely, you have to have something to say, and Andrew Tate will never have that."

— Eli Bosnick on "Dear Old Dads" episode 151 "We Love Some BDE – Big Dad Energy"

[slowandsweet]

Dolce & Gabbana 2025 Authentic masculinity ❤︎

[unhypnotist]

YOU Can Read Men Like a Book by the Books THEY Like to Read.

[uncanny-tranny]

Begging, begging, begging people to stop associating aging and femininity in men/masculine people as Wrong and Predatory. Femininity has no age limit.

To any feminine man, masculine person, or really, anybody who needs to hear this: Your femininity deserves to be recognized and celebrated. Aging is a natural and unique part of life, and you don't have to sacrifice your femininity for fear of being "too old" to be accepted or seen as charming. You are already charming.

There is no limit to being who you are. No matter what you're told, you still deserve to completely claim yourself.

[fiscal-pat]

The Essence of True Masculinity: Meat and Independence

In a world full of noise, true masculinity stands apart. It's not about conforming to the alpha-beta dichotomy but about forging your own path with strength and independence. A sigma male understands this intimately.

Meat, in its raw, unadulterated form, symbolizes the primal power within us. It’s a testament to our ability to hunt, to survive, and to thrive without relying on societal approval. Cooking a steak to perfection, savoring the natural flavors, is a ritual that connects us to our roots and reminds us of our self-sufficiency.

True masculinity isn’t about dominance over others; it’s about mastery over oneself. It’s about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and not needing validation from anyone. It’s in the quiet moments, the disciplined routines, and yes, the enjoyment of a hearty, well-earned meal.

To all my fellow sigma males out there: embrace your independence, relish in your self-reliance, and never let society dictate what it means to be a man. Stand strong, live authentically, and always remember—the essence of true masculinity is within you.

[pisshandkerchief]

the obvious double standard with which we as a society treat amab nonbinary people and trans women who don't fit the level of feminity that they're expected to is actually disgusting.

[frothy-commissions]

I really love the idea of transmasculine Bede just waking up before the gym challenge and deciding that this is it. Lile what better way to introduce himself to the world than to become champion and as male. So he starts becoming more aggressive and arrogant, especially to someone like Hop who comfortable in their own body (maybe not with themselves, but with their gender at least) and presenting as a man would in his eyes. He starts rejecting that he still likes pink and feminine things, and tries so hard to disassociate from it...

Until Opal take him in and suddenly he is confronted for the fact that he's still pink, and he still likes pink. Confronted with the fact that faries, pink, and softer things don't negate his identity as a man. He doesn't have to be aggressive to affirm his masculinity; he is still him. And it's almost freeing for Bede to be the fairy gym leader, to be dressed in pink, to show the power of pink, but as Bede. He finally gets to fully be himself.

[pynkhues]

this will probably be a complicated ask so sorry in advance!

i stumbled upon some tweets about Gabrielle that really got me questioning my view of her character. they argued that people give her labels of trans/trans masc only because she, after gaining freedom, decided to stop conforming to standards of feminity/womanhood. and i kind of see where they are coming from even though I think she might at least be gnc. because really after enduring a life of constant oppression bc of your gender, having kids you didn't disaire, probably being viewed as weak, it makes total sense for her to want to break traditional expectations. vampires don't have to follow those rules society created to keep women submissive so why should she continue to look like the version of herself that went through traumas?

it's an interesting point ig and it honestly hurts my head to think about because of how complex the subject is. also the fact that Gabrielle is so disconnected from humans kind of makes me feel like she realized that no matter what she wore/did to look less feminine, society would always put that same cage on her. and that problem of outside perception which claudia and louis both go through as well, but that lestat doesn't seem to expirience, could explain most of their conflicts imo.

sorry again if I didn't make any sense but I really wanted to hear your opinion on this!

It's definitely a complicated area to talk about, anon, in no small part because I think the nature of Gabrielle's character is that she (and I'll use she/her pronouns here just because Anne does in the books - I'll very happily change that depending on what the show does with the character) has a degree of unknowability that a lot of the other characters simply don't have. In fact, one of the things that's interesting about her I think is that so much of the series is about these characters wanting to be known, and Gabrielle withholds that not just from the other charcters in the books, including her son, but us as an audience too. She's never a POV character, and any insight we get to her is filtered through Lestat who readily admits to not understanding her.

She's clearly depicted as having a complex relationship with both her body and her gender though. From the hair cutting scene to dressing in masculine clothes after her turning to living vicariously through Lestat, that's all pretty explicit in the text itself. There's also a lot that can be inferred too - enduring seven pregnancies only to have three survive infancy is traumatic, regardless of whether or not you wanted those children, and involves major body transformation and trauma as a medical event. Given her relationship to the Marquis, I think we can probably infer at least some of those pregnancies were the product of marital rape, to say nothing of the life Gabrielle was made to give up to marry him in the first place.

How that has interacted with her understanding of her own gender - - I don't know, and Lestat not knowing either I think is actually a vital part of their relationship dynamic. What's exciting about the show though is that by having less of a closed-POV than the books really gives the writers the space to explore all of this outside of him.

After all, I do think it's worth mentioning that our understanding of gender and trans identities as a society has evolved a lot in the years since Anne wrote TVL and originated this character. It'll be 40 years between the novel's publication in 1985 and the first actual adaptation of it next year, and I'd expect that these sorts of conversations have probably been happening in the writer's room with all the nuance that that evolution of understanding now allows.

This is a very roundabout way of saying that I think any and all reads of Gabrielle's gender identity in the books are pretty valid at this stage, honestly. Anne never offers clarity really, and I don't know if that was a deliberate choice on Anne's part, or if it was because she herself was unsure, or if it was even that she was just interested in exploring gender identity with Gabrielle, but I do suspect that it's going to be something Rolin, Hannah and the other writers explore, and I'm really excited to see how they do that.

That said, just in my personal reading of the books, I agree with you that Gabrielle's at the very least gender nonconforming, but would probably add to that that I tend to think she's gender fluid, and lives more commonly as trans masc overall.

[aiscapades]

this isn't touchstarved related i just wanna say something into a void that cares

getting ready for a concert tomorrow && i was having such horrible body image issues with my skirt x corset combo. just wasn't feeling it. so i thought i'd go a more masc western route to fit the vibe of the artist && wow i love 🩷 masc fits 🩷 i love working WITH not AGAINST my broad shoulders and Thick arms and hiding my boobs away and wow. i love gender nonconformity i love gender expression i love being free. finally free

[marigoldbaker]

your tags on that fandom post got me thinking of how... defensive fandom is of the status quo kinda? like I'm white so this might come off like I'm absolving myself which I'm not, but so often I see "fandom is a queer run space that fixes canon! buuuut we're going to focus on the white men because they're the only ones with depth :) and we're going to make actually good female characters cookie cutter. and we're going to ignore black men and especially black women. but queer run safe space!!"

the minute i got this ask i knew i had to wait until i was at home with my laptop because my fingers cannot fly as fast on my phone as they can on the computer keys. this is literally so much of what is happening in the buffy fandom. the whole thing is built on intrinsic systemic racism n misogyny that's reinforced within the show and that many in the fandom do not critically engage with in the slightest. it is absolutely objectively insane to me that i can make a post going, for example, "hey, isn't it fucked up as hell that the show treats the romani people as evil for wanting angel to suffer?" and then people will come into my inbox or land in my reblogs and go "well, actually, the show treats the romani people as shortsighted and bad at long-term planning, and i choose to read them that way too :)" and fully not see that there is a hell of a problem with THAT statement as well (real thing that happened). OR that kennedy hate is still hugely in vogue because she's mean and bratty and terrible and doesn't know her place!!! OR kendra's death & how easily she is forgotten by the fandom!!!!! OR the entire trend of handing buffy to a person's favorite character like a little trophy they've earned for being tortured and sad, reducing her to a facet of a romantic relationship & implying that this is what she needs to feel and be complete!

OR OH MY GOD THE ENTIRETY OF EVERYTHING SURROUNDING SPIKE. where do i even start with spike. completely serious, i am honestly endlessly impressed by the people who can still handle being fans of spike, because being a fan of spike means having to wade through 20 million fics where That Bitch Buffy must be narratively punished for abusing poor baby spike who only ever wanted to love her and was totally out of character every time he hurt her (and also drusilla is a vapid whore who didn't love spike, ever.) like i am not at this point in time always strong enough to engage with spike content simply because there is so much spike content that is SOAKED in violent misogyny repackaged as Deep, Torrid Romance. it's exhausting to try and find the good stuff when sometimes even the good stuff will throw you a curveball in chapter five or shy uncomfortably away from the racist realities of spike's character. the fact that robin wood has been hated for so long because he had the Nerve and the Audacity to want retribution for his mom, and that he is framed as in the wrong for wanting that, is in and of itself so fucking upsetting to me.

AN Y WAY. i agree with you. and i get what you're saying. i think an awareness of the pattern and a willingness to feel uncomfortable within your own mistakes is always a good place to start. i try so hard never to dig my heels in if i can avoid it.

[unhypnotist]

Breaking Free: Why Integrity is the Foundation of True Masculinity

In this video, we explore why living with integrity is essential for men who want to break free from societal conditioning and live authentically. Integrity isn’t just about honesty—it’s about aligning your actions with your values, building trust with others, and creating meaningful connections.

We’ll discuss:

How negative mental trances keep men trapped in cycles of self-deception.

Why integrity attracts authentic relationships and repels dishonesty.

The importance of setting boundaries and disengaging from those who break trust.

If you’re ready to stop living in trances, reclaim your masculinity, and lead with truth, this video is for you. Subscribe now for more content on personal growth, breaking mental trances, and living intentionally.

[ebonyseuphoriatarot]

[carpethedamndiemdejavu]

"There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen

[sendmyresignation]

deeper into major labels and while i disagree with a lot of it its become more of a fun intellectual exercise since now it's much clearer sanneh is in his own critical zone instead of just going total summation mode.

[feminiel]

Okay, but I think dark feminine energy work very closely with the light and divine side of masculine energy. Before learning the concept of dark feminine energy and being aware that she was pushing me to transform, do shadow work, or be my authentic self, I thought it was my masculine energy directing me to those goals. And surely it was because without it, I couldn’t have go that far with courage and determination. I think dark feminine energy and light masculine energy complete each other very well. The light side of the masculine helps the dark feminine to pursue her goals of transformation and helps her feel confident in her dark feminine energy by giving her power for feminine empowerment. To be able to get to the core of dark feminine energy I had to use my light and divine feminine energy to heal my wounded ego who in the time was very much in his dark masculine energy. In return, my healed light masculine energy was now supporting my dark feminine.

It’s a harmonic dance between the dark and the light for the purpose of alignment of the self and for becoming the best and authentic version of us.

The divine feminine heals the dark masculine to become balance and whole.

The light and divine masculine encourages confidence towards the dark feminine to realize and empower herself with using her most valuable inner qualities.

The dark feminine and dark masculine help the light feminine and light masculine to awaken to their best qualities by revealing their shadow sides; where clarity and healing are needed.

Personally, I remember working on healing my ego first, my dark masculine energy, with the help of my light and divine feminine qualities. As I heal my dark masculine energy, I was bringing more and more divine masculine and divine feminine energy to the surface, which was helping me get deeper access to my inner transformation and shadow self work, my dark feminine energy that is.

Each of these energies is aiming for divine union and harmony. Ultimately, all of these energies are working together for the same purposes: the actualization, empowerment of the love/true self and its mission, to become whole and balanced.