Men, what happened?

I've worked with the public for a number of years now. During that time, a disturbing trend has made itself apparent to me. Men have become increasingly passive and a down right embarrassment to themselves. It seems the expectations for modern men have shifted towards a very romantic view. I don't mean romantic in that old paperback your mom used to read, I mean some idealized version of a modern man who is a combination of every stereotype found in Nicholas Sparks novel and/or Cosmo magazine.

Every day I work, I see men mumble, slouch away, and in most cases leave everything to their significant other. They cannot seem to handle money, place a simple order or even say it loud enough without repeating it. Men act more like children with their mothers than the rulers of their own domain. This leads me to a question. What happened? What happened along the way that has lead men to believe they should behave this way? How is desirable behavior? It seems as though a definitive answer can never be found.

My point is simple - men, act like a man. Be confident. Take charge. Decide what movie the two of you are going to see. Pick where to have dinner. Act like you give a shit, and you may be surprised when you get home -wink wink-.

          Be more like this guy.


  Or be cool like this dude.

   And just a bit like this gentleman.