The second wave of feminism may have had the greatest effect on the current batch of young males in America. Baby-boomer, middle class women grew up in an era where education, equality, and independence budded into key values.

In the notorious feminist 1963 exposé, The Feminine Mystique, author Betty Friedan argues that the modern woman felt a sense of emptiness. Tired of having an identity revolving solely around husband and family, these woman felt a need for more — for completeness.

They went to school — not just to search for a husband anymore, but to develop professional groundwork. Highly educated and competent, these women took on leadership roles in businesses and agencies while growing their families.

Who's your Captain now?

Ultimately, it would be how modern woman raised her sons that would influence current day masculinity.

The Drive for Masculinity

In the early 20th century, masculinity had more to do with having a stable career and being able to support a family.

Then something new started happening.

Women began to take on higher and higher paying jobs. They out-competed men for leadership roles, meanwhile expecting their potential sexual partners to at least be of equal or higher status professionally.

Feminism taught women to claim their sexuality. Men were to blame for many of their prior problems — men were to blame for their boredom and repression as housewives.

Second-wave Feminism

The young boys learned that it was their entire gender’s fault that women were treated as objects and toys. So these sons of feminism grew into pushovers. They submitted to the glory of woman. They became the hopelessly flawed, “Nice Guy.”

What does Human Nature tell us about Mating and Manliness?

Evolutionary psychology submits that all humans are governed by innate programming — in which the primary goal is survival and replication. According to this theory, both men and women have evolved specific psychological mechanisms that enable us to gauge perceived sexual value of another person within mere moments.

You can’t walk into a store without seeing at least one magazine with half naked men sporting ripped abdominals. Women claim they are more interested in personality than appearance in men, but study after study reveals that muscular men have access to a significantly greater amount of women.

Cosmo Man - the ideal male?

Boys now realize that working really hard professionally in a difficult economic reality may not be the best strategy for reproductive success.

Every Guy Values Muscle. Period.

Some people say that buff guys either get instant respect or instant jealousy from other men. Either way, during these interactions, the amount and appearance of muscle has real value for those who possess such qualities as strength and aesthetics.

Once you gain more muscle, people will say that you look like “more of a man.” It is as if being a man, and the masculinity inherent in that, is directly related to both power and ability to attract women.

Handsome man in proximity!

To be a man with muscle is like being part of a special fraternity. You no longer need brains to get laid, but if you have both muscle and personality, then women stop caring about your income. The right blend of muscularity, charm, and confidence will stop women in their tracks — because attraction is not a choice.

Muscularity satisfies the Man and the Woman

The more of a Man that you are — whatever that really means — the more women will find you attractive. Muscles alone may get some women into bed, but having genuine feelings for her is more important.

Depth of feeling … expands sexual connection … throughout our journey … into mind-blowing realities. Whereas bodies contribute pleasure, it is the intense emotional harmony that sends chills running through her spine. Like a spell, she is captivated by warm touch and the intimate whispers that enhance unmatched passion. Intensity magnifies because he is that, who is of man.

A real man makes her feel beyond safe

From feminism, men learned that it’s okay to be sensitive. But what got lost in translation is that to be a Man is to posses a strong and unique identity. For his virtue manifests inside of himself to which he offers others, and that in itself is valued even greater than the muscular exterior surrounding the physical self.

Stay strong, my friends.