On Manliness

Another great aspect of manliness is an undying love of Paul Rudd that pushes the conventions of society and brohood, hearkening back to the classical relationship of the homosocial bond seen in the works of Shakespeare.

Yeah, I have an English degree and I'm going to put it to use, damnit.


I sometimes worry that I am setting a bad example for other men.

I have, for example, a half-dozen pairs of shoes. This just seems unacceptable to me.

However I only wear one pair every day and those also happen to be my semi-waterproof snow and work boots.

Now typically a man should possess three pairs of shoes: his sneakers, his nice shoes, and his work boots, because every man engages in some behavior that would necessitate work boots at some point.

So I figure I'm actually pretty good so far. My boots are also my everyday shoes, and being black leather look rather nice in an informal setting. I've simplified manlihood for all mandom. I need only a single pair of shoes. Go me.

Of course I then also have real dress shoes in the closet, square and wing tips depending on setting. Less manly.

Then there's my actual Nikes which exclusively function as Ultimate Frisbee cleats. More and less manly simultaneously.

Two pair of black hi-top Converse are in the closet, which really just count as one pair since Chuck Taylor's have been a staple of misanthropic post-grads for the better part of a century with little to no variation. -2 for extraneous footwear, +3 for retro-chique.

I think I actually come out ahead in this, which is really good because I was starting to worry over the pantyhose and ballet slippers hidden under my bed.