I am not a particularly masculine man. I’m not Chuck Norris or Jean Claude Van Damme. But there are some things that any man, no matter how un-masculine he is, will have a deep - almost genetically programmed - appreciation for. Men spend a lot of time thinking about these things. For women reading this, these are more likely than not the true answer to the question “What are you thinking about?” For your amusement and information (though mostly for your amusement) I have also included how these five things interlock into a single, ultimate man-fantasy or ‘mantasy.
Fast Cars (or other expensive toys)
What man does not have an appreciation for fine automobiles? Even if his car isn’t the best thing on four wheels, a man will still love it. And while not every man may have a deep fondness for motor vehicles, We will all turn heads at a particularly nice Viper or Corvette. We all want to have the fastest, highest tech piece of automotive technology in our garage. We also like electronic gadgetry, such as the kind in these cars.
Ultimate Mantasy: Driving a fast car.
Hot Women
With the exception of gay men (to whom this list does not apply), all men love women. This corner of the pentangle is related to the fast cars corner in that most men believe that having a fast car will help them get hot women. To a certain extent, it’s true. Some men are ‘boob-men’, meaning that their definition of ‘hot’ focusses on the woman’s breasts. Others are ‘butt-men’, focusing their attention on that part of the anatomy. Myself, I am a ‘leg-man’.
Ultimate Mantasy: Driving a fast car with a beautiful woman in the passenger seat.
Good Food (read: red meat)
The appeal of red meat probably goes back to our cavemen days when meat was the main food in our diet. Anyway, most men love meat. We eat hamburgers, steak and especially bacon. If we barbecue it ourselves, so much the better. If it’s meat we’ve hunted ourselves, that’s the manliest option. Good food and hot women are related because, often, women can bring us food.
Ultimate Mantasy: Driving a fast car with a beautiful woman in the passenger seat on the way to a barbecue. Alternatively, driving while eating bacon (it won’t wreck the upholstery because this is a fantasy).
Guns (by extension: action, violence, explosions and fighting)
There is a reason why Dirty Harry, The Terminator and Chuck Norris are considered some of the manliest men. Something about guns just oozes manliness. It’s probably something to do with the phallic nature of firearms. A gun is the ultimate symbol of power. Even a scrawny man with a gun is a threat. Since it’s not possible to go around shooting people on a day-to-day basis, that is why we have action movies. Guns can be used to obtain food for us through hunting.
Ultimate Mantasy: You are driving a fast car with a beautiful woman, on the way to a barbecue. You are being chased by bad guys, who are also in a fast car, and are shooting at you. You shoot at them with your large guns while the beautiful woman reloads.
Competition
Most men like sports, but all men like competition. Whether it’s football, drag racing or even something like dog breeding or chess, we all want to be better than the other guy. Competition is related to all other aspects of manliness. We want to have a faster car, a hotter woman, bigger guns and better food than anyone else. There doesn’t have to be a prize because being the best is it’s own reward.
Ultimate Mantasy: Driving a fast car with a hot woman, being chased by bad guys on the way to a barbecue. You are coming from a race you have just won and have the trophy in the back seat of your car. Alternatively, you are being chased by bad guys during a race, which you are, of course, winning.
I considered doing a similar article for the female mind, but I have no insights into the female mind. It is utterly baffling to me.
