Honestly, I have no problem with the "man date"

by phil on Thursday Apr 13, 2006 10:12 PM

I'm really digging this new catchphrase, the "man date." Guru clued me into an article in the New York Times, Weird eyes for straight guys who just want to go out. The basic idea is that there's a tension between guys who want to meet up and the fear of appearing homosexual. Men, instead, have to go to a bar or otherwise risk social stigma. Two guys can't go to the museum together, watch a movie together, share a bottle of wine together.

Let me be the first to say that I've enjoyed all three of those typical "man dates." Sharing art and discussing deep things is impossible with baseball steaks over beer while the Final Four is happening.

Stigmas are dumb.

I wish I could, or someone could, coin a term to stigmatize people who perpetuate stigmas. Like "pillory people." People who perpetuate dumb stereotypes, who throw out low-level mis-characterizations, and who are overly leering. It's so easy to fall into this role because nobody sees you do it yet everybody feels its presence.

Comments

lord phallus said on April 14, 2006 8:38 AM:

By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, he keeps the enemy without definite knowledge.
By shifting his camp and taking circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose.
--The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Chapter XI: The Nine Situations