Bobkgin
Posts: 1335
Joined: 7/28/2007 From: Kawarthas, Ontario, Canada Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Cyntilating quote:
ORIGINAL: Bobkgin "He stands before the raging spectators, a God in their midst. Machismo and testosterone strewn about him like a train wreck. "He roars, like a beast, a lion challenging one and all to defy his will and step into the arena. "A man takes up the challenge. Smaller, lighter of frame and build. Quiet, alert ... focused. "One bellows as a bull from Hell. The other cocks an eyebrow." My apologies if my use of archetypes offends you. I am seriously curious when it comes to machismo, and why some women find it appealing while others find it repulsive. My parents taught me ethics that would preclude machismo, and I cannot say I miss what I've never had nor truly understood. But every BDSM forum I've visited includes ample displays of machismo as well as a bevy of women who find it appealing. And then there are the men and women who are not in any way impressed by it. Thus I am starting this thread for the purpose of discussing machismo as it relates to BDSM. Bob, you wrote: {It tells me "what", but not "why". } The peacock ( male) displays its plume..to show sexual readiness The Lion shakes its mane and bares its teeth...to show dominance. The male guppy is the one with the colors....to attract the female. The Buck with the largest rack... has won the most battles and shows prowess and skill. the females in the animal kingdom look for the above to find the strongest and healthiest to mate with, because something intrinsic tells her that strong bloodline means security/longevity for the pack/herd. machismo in a man is essentially a display of his prowess and sexuality and it speaks to that animalistic place in the hetero-female. ie "bring you and your strong sperm over here hot stuff! let's procreate!" am I getting close? ...............ok taking my nyquil bottle and going to bed now.. it was the nyquil talking, I swear. ::smiling:: You are probably getting close, Cyndi, but here's the thing. In each of the above examples, the animal displays its most prominent asset. But in humans, that asset has been, and continues to be, the brain. The peacock does not write sonnets, the lion composes no symphonies. Pierre Trudeau, perhaps our most popular and influential prime minister, was not someone with rippling biceps and six-pack abs, yet he was vastly popular with the women voters of his day because of his intellect. (hmm, now I'm wondering at the role culture plays in this) If, in the illustration that opened the OP, the man with the cocked eyebrow pulled out a gun and blew away the competition, what lesson could we conclude from the competition between brawn and brains? How would primitive humans have brought down a mammoth if someone hadn't had the brains to figure out how to chip stone to make spears, or organize a hunt? I'm not dissing body-builders or their admirers, but I see this as conditioning, not instinct. As for procreation, the guy might be built like a god, but if he's dumb as a post ... hmm ... come to think of it, you're probably right. As a society we don't place much value on brains. Funding for music classes in school gets chopped while money for football is untouchable.
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When all is said and done, what will you regret? That you never really lived? Or there was so much living left to do? For those interested: pics and poetry have been added to my profile.
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