Masculinity is under attack. I don't think my readers need to be told that. I do, however, think there is confusion about what masculinity is thanks to this ongoing war to protect and defend it.
I believe that some people, in the pursuit of their defense, overreact to some of the things they see and deem these things non-masculine. I saw two particular things on Monday that I want to address so that we can set the record straight on what is and isn't "manly."
Let's start with the obvious one.
Today I saw an article being advertised on X from the New York Post talking about how a new look for men called "babygirl."
"Women are loving men who embrace ‘babygirl’ vibe — and ditch toxic masculinity," said the Post. This was accompanied by pictures of celebrities in what is feminine clothing.
Women are loving men who embrace ‘babygirl’ vibe — and ditch toxic masculinity https://t.co/U0UpoQmAZ2 pic.twitter.com/cyNcs1OmnY
— New York Post (@nypost) February 26, 2024
The article gets much worse:
A new definition of the term “babygirl” has recently been adopted, remaining as a term of endearment but expanding to include a specific type of swoon-worthy man.
A man who is “babygirl” comes across as sweet, charming, a bit bashful and seemingly in touch with their feminine side, ready to talk about their feelings or carry a purse to brunch at any point.
It’s exactly what women want and men want to become — the antithesis of toxic macho masculinity.
I think I don't need to tell you that a lot of this is pure, uncut, unadulterated bullsh*t. Firstly, I don't know any men embracing this look, and moreover, I especially don't see any women agreeing that this is what women want. Whoever the author of this post is talking to has a very, very small social circle or is so obsessed with celebrity culture that she can't see past it.
To be sure, only celebrities seem to be embracing this look.
When we get past the smoke and mirrors, what we have here is just another attempt to emasculate Western men in an attempt to feminize them. This isn't a new push by the corporate media. Every so often a new fashion craze supposedly hits that puts men in dresses and skirts. It fails miserably and they try again after a few months.
But it's not going to succeed. Not only do the vast majority of men not want to separate themselves from their masculinity to the point of wearing obviously terrible-looking clothing, but women especially don't want to see their men lose their masculinity. Judging by the reaction to the New York Post's post on X, it's mostly women who are flat-out rejecting this.
Why? Because everyone likes masculinity except the radical left, radical feminists, and the corporate media which is comprised of both of those aforementioned groups. They attempt to call it "toxic masculinity" to make people uneasy, afraid of, and wary about displaying or engaging in masculine acts, but if we're being honest, masculinity is pretty awesome and nobody wants to get rid of it.
Even feminists with two brain cells to rub together ultimately figure out they're a fan of it.
(READ: The Issue Isn't 'Toxic Masculinity,' It's the Lack of Masculinity)
But let's look at the other example of what is being deemed unmanly.
Earlier today, an X account posted a video of a dad at what appears to be a Taylor Swift concert with his daughters. The father is singing the songs enthusiastically right alongside his daughters, maybe even more so. He's wearing a "Team Jacob" t-shirt with Taylor Laughtner's picture on it.
"This is not a man," the account Alphafox78 wrote.
The post is now deleted as Alphafox78 appeared to have gotten such an overwhelmingly negative response that he backed down and scrubbed his account of the post. However, after some searching, I managed to find the original video and reposted it. I also did some digging on the man in question.
The man in question is Michael Nigro. According to KCTV, Nigro is a Marine whose three daughters love Taylor Swift. Nigro is a Kansas City Chiefs fan, and when Swift started appearing on television at the games thanks to her relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the girls began watching the games with him more:
“We get the whole family here on Sunday,” said Nigro. “It’s usually my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law, with the kids sprinkled here and there depending on the situation. What transpired this year, with the ‘Taylor effect’, these kids went from watching games here and there to watching every single game with their gear on. It’s full on, Chiefs all day.”
Family members were already big Swifties according to Nigro, who first heard of Swift back in 2006.
“I was in Marine Corps boot camp and my mom would write me letters,” said Nigro. “She knew I was a big country fan so she would send me letters with any new country songs that were big hits. I have one from October 12, 2006. This letter literally had the lyrics to Tim McGraw, which I think was her single she released in June of that year.”
Thankful for the bonding time and being closer to his daughters than he's ever been before, Nigro put extra effort into learning Swift's songs and taking his daughters to her concert. He even helped them make friendship bracelets to pass out to other concertgoers:
“This last year honestly has been one of the more fun years watching the Chiefs,” said Nigro. “Having the girls with us and so involved really adds another dynamic to it. Being involved with them, going to the concert and doing everything they love made me a better dad and hopefully they enjoyed the experience as much as I did. You truly appreciate all that looking back. It was a great year. You can see in the TikTok video I got pretty emotional at the end of it and that had a lot to do with it.”
What you're looking at is a man who loves his children and is excited to be so close to them.
The guy who originally posted this video took it down after saying this father was not a man for jamming out to Taylor Swift at a concert with his daughters. I’m going to repost it here and, on top of that, I dig some digging.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) February 26, 2024
This man is a MARINE who appreciates Swift because… pic.twitter.com/8nSkJnYPpI
We can argue about the merits of Taylor Swift but that's another conversation. The topic here is this man's love of his children being so deep that he's willing to engage in something feminine with them to bond further with them.
From where I'm sitting, this is the most masculine thing I've seen this month.
Yes, singing songs that primarily relate to girls isn't the most masculine thing ever, but this man is doing this out of love for his daughters, and that is something a man's man would do. Being a great father is one of the most masculine activities a man can engage in.
These girls will look back at the love, support, and safety their father provided when they're older and be moved to tears by it. They'll be less likely to get into bad relationships or be OnlyFans models because their father's love inspired them to seek stable, solid relationships with men who are just as loving and caring as their father is.
Yes, he's doing something a bit feminine but he's doing something slightly feminine to accomplish something incredibly masculine; being a present father.
