Description

#52: Whether you know it or not, you were raised to live in a "Man Box."

"The Man Box" is a term developed in the 1980's by a group of men called the Oakland Men's Project in order to define the series of qualities men are instructed to embody in order to "be a man":

• Do not cry or openly express emotions
• Do not express weakness or fear
• Demonstrate power and control
• Do not be like a woman
• Do not be like a gay man (be heterosexual)
• Make decisions on your own (do not ask for help)
• Be a protector
• Be aggressive and dominant
• View women as property/objects

The 5 "Man Box" Rules of Masculinity

The contents of the Man Box can be broken down into 5 categories:

1. Success: You must win, beat others, be right, don't ask for help.
2. Emotions: Emotions are a liability.
   Belonging: Unless you are extraordinary, you must "fit in" to be accepted.
3. Sexuality: You must be heterosexual, sexually accomplished, and never experience performance issues.
4. Women: You must protect, be in control of and dominant over women.

So long as you follow these rules, you will experience a sense of belonging and be looked to as "a man."

These archaic rules are not only toxic to society, they've trapped you into a way of living that isn't your own…

…instead, you've drifted into this cage unwittingly.

You need to break these 5 rules of "Man Box Masculinity" and re-define your own rules.

The Impact of Living in The Man Box

Here are a few ways of knowing you've been socialized into The Man Box:

• You're feeling uninspired by the life you've created
• You regularly find yourself emotionally exhausted having to act/behave a certain way
• You feel restless and trapped by your life
• You find yourself unable to confide fully in others
• You have secretive parts of your life that you'd be afraid for other to know or see
• You are unable to communicate 100% of your desires to your romantic partner, friends or business colleagues

In this episode:

• Defining "The Man Box" and its "rules of masculinity"
• Exposing where you've defaulted into The Man Box
  How to break the 5 rules of Man Box masculinity
• 3 questions to ask yourself about each of these 5 rules
• A free PDF download to help you re-define your own rules: https://www.doinnerwork.com/5practices