The Greatest Insult to a Man

Men are confused. Very, very confused. They have no clue about their societal role. Are they supposed to be tough and macho or sweet and caring?

When 2,000 men in 13 countries were grilled by the Chicago ad agency Leo Burnett with a bunch of survey questions in the "2005 Man Study," it was easy to see that males worldwide fell into one of four categories, depending on their personality, life goals and daily work:

Metros
Retros
Patriarchs
Power-seekers

The study concluded that we are now witnessing a new experience of male insecurity and confusion, report The New York Post and Brand Republic. That said, men's sense of what's offensive has certainly become more sensitive than in previous generations.

Nearly 75 percent said one of these three statements was the greatest insult someone could throw at them:

29 percent say: "He'll never amount to anything."
24 percent say: "Everyone laughs behind your back."
21 percent say: "You're stupid."

Some surprising findings:

Just over half of the men surveyed said their role in society is unclear. Frenchmen are the most confused at 64 percent, while Indian men are the least confused at 36 percent. Half of American men are confused.

10 percent of men of all ages think their role in society is becoming less dominant. 73 percent of men prefer to have a job that they love versus a job that pays well.

The ultimate male fantasies were ranked in this (surprising) order:

End world hunger.
Be a world famous sports star.
Marry a supermodel.

What is the cause of this global identity crisis? The study authors blame it on the rise of feminism and empowered women in the workplace.

The study findings were reported at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

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Do people really need a role in society to be confused about? Needing a role points to an emptiness in life and the abandonment of self determination. Being insultable is a consequence of this rift.

Everyone in their place.

> The ultimate male fantasies were ranked in this (surprising) order

Wha'? Wha'? Whatever happened to "two chicks at the same time, oh and shut up Philo you smug git"?

The ultimate male fantasy : End world hunger?

Gimme a break.

People (including men) only care about world hunger because it's shoved in their faces on TV. Otherwise they don't give a flying fuck

> Otherwise they don't give a flying fuck

Perhaps men are evolving past your tortured soul?

Evolving?  Men have wanted to mend society's woes for decades upon decades.  What sort of bullshit assumptions are YOU operating on?

You are, as always, an empty-headed twit who can only regurgitate and not think.

>>> Needing a role points to an emptiness in life and the abandonment of self determination.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

do they have descriptions of the four types? wtf is a retro, for example.

> You are, as always, an empty-headed twit who can only regurgitate and not think.

Your vagina envy is raging today muppet. Just give in. Have the operation.

> wtf is a retro

Good question. That's all I got though.

That's a great thoughtless ad hominem son but it doesn't address the fact that your statement was utter bullshit and you know it.  Are you seriously suggesting that men need to EVOLVE in order to care about global issues, and that to this point, they have not?

> That's a great thoughtless ad hominem

Thank you. Your politeness inspires me.

You're amazing.  You really haven't got an original thought in your head.  All you can do is copy and paste.  Defense of any viewpoint is utterly beyond your ability.

Fantastic.

sop - you have at least three people on this board who thinks you are a stupid simple-minded twit. All this regurgitation of the latest pop psychology studies is f*cking annoying.

there's some value in having roles and expectations. it doesn't mean all roles/goals are the same, but the faster one figures out, the faster one can get out of analysis paralysis and start implementing said goals. the role-defining person is as rare as the self-employed.

also mates can quickly pick which of the four types attracts them.

http://www.leoburnett.com/manstudy/AboutStudy.htm

The Retros

    * Entrenched in old-school, stereotypical male behavior
    * Rejecting new societal roles

The Retros believe it is important to be the breadwinner and the boss of the house. They would be bothered if their wives earned more money than they did. They don't see their wives as equals and don't tend to share parenting duties.

Well, there are many people who don't not like muppet and according to you it's none of his problem...

Rick - you a f*cking idiot too,,,

> who thinks you are a stupid simple-minded twit

That doesn't stop you all so I won't let it stop me either.

Thanks rick. It's interesting that traditional Hindu culture has a caste system based on rigid roles because following those roles relieves you from karmic responsibility for your actions. You are just acting in accordance to your roll so there's not penalty.

Perhaps roles relieve people of responsibility and thought in our culture too and when that responsibility is put back on them it goes unhandled.

Whoops, also meant to thank strawdog soubriquet for the research.

Seeking societal position is natural behavior for human males and there isn't much you can do to stop it.  Might as well teach cats not to hunt.  In both cases it's hard-wired behavior, and if you block it you'll wind up with a very unhappy animal.  With a human you keep his position uncertain and changing.  It will drive him mad in one way or another and he'll be useless.

> there isn't much you can do to stop it

It's interesting in some threads people are perfectly programmable machines with complete control and in others they become mindless darwin machines. Don't you think awareness and training can moderate these instincts?

I doubt that this one can be trained out of them.  You won't find any thread from me where I claim that all behaviors can be overcome by training.  Fighting, foraging and fucking are something that animals just do, and we're animals.

interesting link, thanks.

"> You are, as always, an empty-headed twit who can only regurgitate and not think.

Your vagina envy is raging today muppet. Just give in. Have the operation."

Stop fighting, Mom and Dad! You know I don't like it!

"The ultimate male fantasy : End world hunger?

Gimme a break."

Well, if the top answer wasn't "two chicks at once" then it's doubtful the question was actually phrased this way. I suspect it was something like "If you could accomplish only one thing in your entire life you'd be remembered for, what would it be?"

Something like that I can see getting "end world hunger" or "world peace" as a top answer.

As for "male roles in society" - who cares? I've got a family to provide for and a libido to keep happy. Until you lot decide to elect me President that's all I have to worry about.

Okay, I'll be honest - even AFTER you lot elect me President odds are that's all I'll worry about...

It helps when you look at surveys such as these to think about what's going through the head of the person answering the questions at the time they answer.

In this case it was probably "I don't want to be seen as TOO shallow so I'll put down the world hunger thing first. Followed by doing a supermodel."

Ending World Hunger AND Doing a Super Model (Female)

How come no man thinks their role is to overrun the earth with their progeny?

Well, they do, but Society sets the barrier rather high.  First, you can't have multiple wives in America.  Second, it's expensive to raise ONE child in America, let alone dozens.

Thirdly, divorce is expensive in America, which limits how many times you can 'split' your earnings to support all those kids.

Which is why you do it like the illegals. You just come and fuck everyone you can, they all have babies, and you don't get saddled with all that shit because you're not a citizen!

Sad.  I find myself intrigued and disgusted both at the same time.