Each Thursday we ask whether you think a certain object or subject is manly. Make sure to check out past Is it manly? polls. Now for this week’s question:
Photo by Rebecca Pollard
Are video games manly? Vote. Discuss.
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{democracy:15}
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Video games are not manly. They are boyish.
My first reaction is to say no; video games are for men who need to get out and experience real life with real risks. There’s something that makes me uncomfortable about getting my jollies pretending to be storming the beach at Normandy from the comfort of my couch when real men bled real blood and sweat real tears there.
On the other hand, video games are just that-games. And certainly there is room in life for games. I would say that chess is manly, and then how is chess any different from video games which also require skill, practice, and strategy?
They’re not manly, but they’re not “dismanly” either. They’re neutral, in my mind.
I voted no… I love playing video games, but there is nothing manly about them.
I have to agree with Brian, I think video games themselves are gender-independent.
That said, I have to disagree with Alex M., there is nothing unmanly about enjoying video games either. Especially if you’re playing Nintendo’s fitness-focused or family-oriented games.
Video games are what you make of them, and it certainly depends on which games you’re looking at. They can teach you to win or loose gracefully. They can teach leadership and teamwork. Yet sadly there are a great number of parents who use video games as a babysitter, and people who gain entertainment solely from griefing others.
Some games have excellent stories, some have incredible music scores. Some do not. Some feature amazing amounts of gore.
So, is leadership manly? Is teamwork? Is it considered manly to read classical works of fiction, or listen to orchestra?
I’ve played games where I mindlessly whack monsters (Diablo 2), and I’ve also lead 50 people who’ve never met, who hail from across the US and Europe, in an endeavor that requires the utmost co-ordination between everyone involved (EverQuest).
The answer? Laying waste to the hordes of hell: not manly, but certainly fun. Coordinating the efforts of a large number of people to slay the dragon: Fun, and it also required quite a few manly traits to pull off (no offense to any female raid-leaders who may be reading :-).
Are you kidding me?
Video games…
Manly?
Ummm…
Not a chance, says I.
But- There’s a chance for learning skills that increase your manliness in everything you do.
However, the people I know that play video games a lot seem to be just passing time.
I agree with Brian and Dave here. They are neutral. I think the problem lies in the stereotype that goes along with video games. The fat kid who never goes outside or the thirty-something single guy living in his mother’s basement playing Halo certainly lack manly characteristics. But as Dave said, some games encourage manly traits like leadership and strategy.
Casual gaming seems to be getting more popular as well (thanks Wii and DS). I know a handful of established (older) and manly guys who have taken an interest in the Wii for party games or the DS for Brain Age, etc. Besides, as Alex above pointed out, there is room in life for fun.
I didn’t vote because it can go both ways.
I voted yes because I didn’t want to contribute to the idea that gaming is unmanly, which is different from saying that it’s not manly to play video games. I’d answer the same way if someone were to ask me whether reading is manly or enjoying humour. These things don’t indicate a manly man, but they don’t indicate a childish or effeminate one, either.
Well, it really depends how you take the question.
Most video games are either about competition, advanced weaponry, problem solving, or fast reflexes. All these things are manly. Therefore, the act of playing video games does have manly aspects to it.
On the other hand, there are definitely video games themselves which would be embarrassing for any man to play. The Grand Theft Auto series is Manly. Barbie dressup is definitely not…
If you think about it, this is like asking is TV manly… Heroes, CSI, Action movies, Football and Hockey are all manly…. Watching Romantic Dramas (Chick Flicks), Figure skating and most interior design shows are not what most men would consider manly…..
Considering removing this blog from my RSS feeds… The signal to noise ratio is way down with crap like this.
@LS-
I’m not sure how a simple question can be construed as “crap.” We thought it would be fun on Thursdays to simply pose an opened ended question about what things/concepts are or are/not manly. It’s not supposed to be serious, just a chance for good natured discussion. Do you care to elaborate on your comment?
Interesting question; interesting responses.
Speaking personally I would have to say that (IMO) videogames are not innately manly.
I find it difficult to elaborate exactly why I feel this. Most the criticisms I would raise (that games are a largely sedentary pursuit; that they involve receptive absorption of entertainment rather than engaging one’s own active creative faculties; that actions within the mediated environment of the game having little if any concrete effect on the wider world, etc.) could all equally be applied to books, which – IMO – *are* manly.
GTA, God of War, Prince of Persia, Call of Duty and the like all seem to fit the common-or-garden, contemporary pop culture ideal of masculine virtues. But whether people from a pre-modern era like Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt or Oliver Cromwell would see virute in them and consider those games a worthwhile use of a man’s time is a difficult question. Are they a tool that teaches virtue, or a distraction from practising it ourselves?
Perhaps the ‘not manly’ quality I perceive in games resides in their being ‘manliness neutral’; rather than in their being actively emasculating. A story is a story is a story. They have their correct time and place in life as do all good things.
Please, Brett, do not get me wrong, but i am tending to agree with LS. Questions like this are raising the signal to noise ratio. The last several articles on this site are as follows:
– Are video games Manly? (poll)
– Product giveaway (non-related)
– Snakes series 1+2 (not primary site focus)
– Why real men go green (written by guest author, who was extremely cliche in writing style)
Forgive me. I added the RSS feed around 2 weeks ago, when the article section dealt with more pressing issues such as how to dress for a job interview. Personally, I believe that this site is falling into a trap that many sites fall into, which is the production of more content while allowing quality of content to slip. Things such as snakebite advice and polls belong in the forums for people seeking secondary advice. Things such as “Whether used in a business or social setting, a tie bar completes the suit. It shows that in dressing yourself, no detail has been overlooked.” belong in the primary location (RSS).
There are things being added to the RSS feed daily, and while I appreciate the diversion from what I happen to be doing at the time, they are not providing the quality of content that is represented in previous articles such as: How to tip, How to dress, and How to be a good father. I am aware that everyone knows how to run a site better than the person running it, and cannot begin to fathom the time-drain that this site is putting on your life (probably around 2-4 hours daily), but I would like to leave you with two pieces of advice.
1 – This is your site. Your articles go on the front page. User-created content such as poll discussion and guest articles belong in the forum.
2 – You do not need to provide content on a daily basis. Many users would be happier if you posted one quality article per week rather than five low quality articles Mon-Fri. Find your balance. If people like the content, they will add the feed or frequent the site. Adding low quality things to an RSS feed tricks people into trafficking temporarily, but discourages them from a repeat visit. Today I thought I was going to get an article on video games.
You and this site are an encouraging inspiration for people to be better people. This is not a parting letter, it is an attempt to strengthen your message.
– Keith Brawner
Video games are for the weak of heart and mind. Anyone can push buttons. Real men play board games (http://www.boardgamegeek.com).
Board games have two major things over video games. One is a real board game (Not one like Life or even Risk) requires use of the higher thinking skills. Second is you have to have real interaction with people, not just staring into a TV and yelling across the room to the others.
Keith-
Our goal each week is to provide three comprehensive posts. And we do that each week on MWF. The snake posts are part of those comprehensive ones. That took a several weeks to put together. We were actually going to just post all of it together on Wednesday, but it was way too long, so we broke them up. And if you go through the archives, you’ll see that the site isn’t just about dressing and fatherhood. We post try to post information men would be interested in and find useful. We feel men are interested in knowledge of nature and outdoors, so we posted it. Sorry it didn’t live up to your expectation of the site.
The polls are something that I did to increase discussion on the site and so far people have responded well to them, so I’ll continue to do them. If you don’t like them, you can just skip it over in your feed on Thursday.
@Wil Wade:
Your first argument for board games/against video games is illogical. You assume that all video games are mindless Halo or Diablo or Mario type games…this is far from the case. Granted, there are plenty of those, but there are also many, MANY strategy games that require use of higher thinking faculties (the one that comes to mind for me is Civilization). Also, you mention that Risk is not a “real board game”…it’s the most advanced I’ve played, and since I’m not too familiar with the board game scene, what are some “real board games”?
The second argument, however, is quite valid. While you can have deep strategy games and local multiplayer games, it is very rare to see both in the video game realm. (The closest it gets, I believe is the new Civilization: Revolutions game that’s out for the consoles/DS.) The level of interaction experienced is largely dependent on the type of game being played. (A turn-based strategy game, say, Civilization, plays much like a board game, so you’d likely see interaction closer to those of actual board games.)
For the record, I do enjoy video games very much, and a large part of my childhood was spent with them. I am far from obsessed, however. Well, except perhaps for Civilization, if you haven’t already picked up on that. ;)
I can’t believe that people think that this isn’t a valid question for a men’s site. If you stop by my site, you’ll see that one of the most popular posts I’ve ever done was “My Husband Plays Xbox Too Much.”
Video games and video game addiction are an extremely serious issue. Don’t believe me? Tell the dozens of women who have emailed me or left comments on my blog about their Xbox (PS3, Nintendo, etc) Widowhood.
Don’t mistake the concept of video games as a throwaway. It’s an important issue.
I love gaming, Rock Band is my personal addiction, but I voted no on the poll. Games are not inherently manly.
Reality is manly. Video games are an escape from reality. Is escaping reality manly? Nah, that’s cowardly.
In my opinion, the most manly thing of all is hard work. Therefore, laziness, in my opinion, is the most unmanly thing there is. Video games are kind of for lazy people. Sorry.
@Andrew:
I absolutely agree with you that laziness is very unmanly. However, you are using a non sequitur. Just because lazy people play video games does not mean that video games make a person lazy. The key, as it seems to be with everything is moderation. Does drinking alcohol make you a drunken fool? No. Same idea with video games and laziness. In the end, the person makes the decision to be lazy.
As for the “escape from reality”, I could make the same argument for books. Do you, then, consider books to be unmanly as well?
Tough call. I consider myself to be manly in many ways, and many people have called me so, and I grew up with an Atari and spent several of my formative years rationing my allowance at the arcade…
But when pressed, I cannot say I am proud of getting a high score on Ms. Pacman when I play it with my sister-in-law (who is twelve). Beating some boss monster isn’t brag-worthy or something to really be proud of. Killing Diablo was cathartic, but who would be impressed by this feat but the few players who have tried to do this and failed.
Now I’m thinking that my definition of manliness is somehow linked to what other people think, and I am NOT saying this. I’m saying that I can not say “I beat this game” with any source of real pride, it’s not the same accomplishment as writing an novel (which I’m working on) or learning a Bach Cello Suite on the Guitar (something else I’m working on).
I don’t think video games are manly at all. In fact, it goes against many of the tenants this blog has used to define manly. Just a few:
* Frugality: Why spend $60 on a video game that does nothing to improve your life and the life of those around you. You can argue that it creates leadership skills and all of that nonsense, but try going into your company’s boardroom and use skills learned in Super Mario (or whatever, it’s all the same) to lead your company in a better direction. Try using those skills when teaching your son or daughter how to do something around the house. Sixty dollars is a lot of money for very little return. It doesn’t matter how much money I have, I could never justify spending that much money on some silly, boyish pursuit. Buy your wife/girlfriend a $60 bouquet of flowers and see what real rewards a man can reap.
*Fitness: How many hours do gamers sit on a couch, drinking soda, trying to get 500,000 points? What do points mean, anyway? Use that time to go hiking, jogging, or biking. Get some real fresh air. Make your own goals out on the trail and rack up some real points. Show those around you that you can be fit, firm, and sociable.
*Social: Sure, you may lead a group of cartoon characters played by people from all over the world… But how firm are their handshakes? How did they treat their wife on their anniversary? What’s their dogs’ names? And when did you last hold a BBQ and invite them over for some beer, food, and sports? There is only so much sociability you can maintain while playing a video game. My girlfriend and I play games all the time: Scrabble, Monopoly, etc. But we pour a glass of wine, put on some music, and have a fantastic time talking and competing and looking at each other eye-to-eye. It is impossible to see my girlfriend’s beautiful blue eyes if all we do is stare at the TV screen controlling characters on a screen.
So… no. Video games are not manly. They are for boys with no other interests in life. Turn off the TV, learn some new hobbies, and find a girl to spend all of that attention on.
If you would have asked me at the beginning of ´08, I would have said yes. Now, I´m not so sure, even in moderation. I have a friend, that (unfortunately) has dedicated his life to WoW. He plays 8 hours a day during the midnight hours, and sleeps during the day. He never leaves his house. That is not manly, and not even respectable enough to be considered boyish.
But what about just playing a few hours here and there. I´ll concede that the occasional game of Madden with your buddies is well within the manly right, but to plan to play a few hours of a shooter every few days is counter-productive. I stopped when I realized I could take those hours I sunk into CoD4 and take a hike or work on a manly project instead.
Video games that require strategy, skill, cunning, and fast reflexes are manly. When played with a team of other men, video games can generate manly feelings of camaraderie.
Video games are manly.
Sitting on your backside, pretending to be someone else, is not manly…unless you are a professional actor.
Playing games is wasting time…and wasting time isnt manly.
@Andrew:
Do you not read for pleasure? Watch movies or television? Listen to music? Tell stories around a campfire? All of those could be considered “escapes from reality”. I wouldn’t call any of those “unmanly”, unless you want to go back to the old stereotype of “manly” meaning “brutish and uncultured”.
I think video games are neither manly nor unmanly; the important issue is how said games affect the rest of your life. If playing video games causes you to neglect your responsibilities or worthy pursuits, then they are being detrimental to your manliness. But if you are able to accomplish what you must and should and still find time for relaxation via games (or any other fun activity), well, you obviously manage your time well, and that is certainly manly.
This is a generational discrepancies question . . . its old school vs new school.
You either get it or you don’t. I don’t see any reasons games cant be manly. As long as they don’t take over your life. Look if you play World of Warcraft and spend 25 hours a day doing so, your not manly. But tell me how hanging out with some friends and shooting some shit on Call of Duty, or throwing down on Madden is not manly?
You don’t have to run around with guns and beaver pelts to be a man. Get with the program people.
I can’t believe there are still people who say games are for little boys.
Wake up already, it’s the XXI century!
@Keith-
Just to chime in to what Brett said……I do not mean this harshly, but perhaps if you have only subscribed to the site for 2 weeks, you may not be the best judge of the “primary focus” of this site. I agree that the “going green” post was different from what we usually post, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. And I completely disagree that the snake posts represent “secondary advice.” If you look through the archives you’ll find that practical “man skills” represent a big chunk of what we do here. Simply because you are personally not interested in snakes does not mean that they don’t belong on the blog. Other men aren’t interested in tie bars and tipping. What is interesting is that you ask for more stuff on dress and grooming while a fellow in a previous thread said he was unsubscribing because we do too much on dress! It’s impossible to please everyone.
As to the idea that these question belong in the forum……the majority of readers do not frequent the forum. These questions have been getting 70+ comments, which is 10X what most forum questions get. Obviously guys like discussing these questions.
Finally, as to the idea that things like the Ritual giveaway are simply “noise”…….211 commenters disagree. People like giveaways and we’re going to have many more in the future.
I’ve always played video games.
I agree and disagree with a lot I’ve read above me here.
To be honest it’s like anything else, it’s in how you do it.
When you play football do you scream like a little girl and pass with a limp wrist? Yeah, not manly.
When you play video games do you neglect your family? Your own health? Your job? Your education? Yeah, not manly.
Video games as a whole are entertainment. Some are recognized as art. Some are even played for sport (MLG anyone?).
Undoubtedly this entire site could be put up for questioning, because who can really define what is manly? The truth is it’s up to each individual to ask, form an opinion, and share/discuss what they think with others and come to a conclusion about how they feel about it.
In my opinion? Well it should be obvious by now. I believe video games are both. I’m guilty of playing the occasional “game for sissies” (Harvest Moon…) and I’ve also teamed up in a clan of Team Fortress 2 playing for clan pride.
Go on men, shake off that stupid “man-child” label cast onto you. Of course, you will have to pull your ass off the couch/chair and turn the console/computer off to start with…
Cory makes a important point above that I hope does not get lost in the mix. Video games are neither manly nor unmanly in and of themselves, but they become very unmanly when played to excess. When my husband comes home from work he almost immediately plops down on the couch, puts his headset on, and starts to play. He stays up into the wee hours of the morning and won’t come to bed, even when I beg him to. It has put such a strain on our marriage. It’s hard to face the fact that my husband enjoys spending time with his virtual friends more than me. I feel like a video game widow. Thanks for that new term Cory.
to say videogames are not manly because you cannot in all good faith pretend to go and storm the beaches of Normandy when real men have died there seems to me like somebody has a deathwish. Honor their memory, and while you await your chance to adorn a wall of fame somewhere with your brave sacrifice, play some games. there’s no shame.
Or to say chess is manly… then what is football? Trust me, I’m all for the development of the mind, especially in jocks who think brute force is the most important aspect of a man – but then again, if chess is manly, so’s blowing sh*t up with a BFG in multiplayer. Baseball is multiplayer too in the end. Join the 21st century.
So games are manly. They involve cunning, reflexes, a team spirit and responsibility, and many are played for money. SO there :)
Brett;
I am not disappointed by the site in general. Actually, I am highly enthused by it. I have done a great deal of reading through the articles in the archives lately after being directed here from Slashdot. I have extremely high hopes.
Thank you for taking the time to address my comments with your usual reassuring attitude.
– Keith
—————————————————————————————————–
Because I’ve directed the discussion off topic, here are my views on the “Are video games manly?” question:
Video games are a form of engaged electronic entertainment. Under the entertainment category, there are many ‘manly’ representations such as reading a self-improvement book, going to the concert, or going pleasure hiking. there are ‘unmanly’ things in the entertainment category such as reading a romance novel, going to a strip club, or drinking. As entertainment, it is also inherantly a ‘free time’ activity similar to any other hobby such as television, movies, camping, or knitting. If you allow the pursuit of any hobby to dominate other things in your life, then it is a problem.
It stands to reason that video games are as ‘manly’ as they are made to be. You can play group games like Wii Bowling with your children. You can also play games where you kill prostitutes for money. You can play a game for 20 minutes in the morning trying to beat another level in an epic story of good and evil after your wife has left for work. You can play a game for 10 hours straight on Christmas and instead estrange her. You can kill zombies, fly planes, and simulate most aspects of life.
“Video Games” are not inherently good or evil, nor are they inherently manly or unmanly.
I did not vote.
1 Corithians 13:11 “When I was a child I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
When we look at our examples of real men, we tend to look at men you have been dead many years. Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, the men of the HMS Troopship Birkenhead, etc. Most of our examples happen to be founding fathers, but all of our examples will be men who did something great. We don’t, however, take very much interest in their childhood, most of the time. We like to focus on the great things they did when they were men. We should look at those defining years, though. When boys became men. When their character and resolve to be something grew inside them. I want to know what it was that their fathers and grandfathers told them when they were boys.
Now, on the subject of video games, you go back fifty years, there was no such thing as video games, as of yet. All throughout history, in most countries, until about fifty years ago, boys became men at around the age of thirteen or fourteen. In Jewish tradition this is called their Bar Mitzvah. At which age they were free to go make a life for themselves. Take on work, make a home, and then even take a wife. There was no such thing as adolescence. You were a boy, there was a defining moment, and you were a man. You will STILL find that today in many countries. Not in America, however. In America you will find thirty year old BOYS who still watch Sponge Bob and play video games. And they refuse to take on the responsibilities of being MEN.
If you’re single, what you should do instead of playing games is: read a book, clean your house, mow your lawn. If you’re married, what you should do instead of playing games is: work on your honey-do list, mow the lawn, clean the house, SURPRISE your wife with something NICE. If you have KIDS, you should DEFINITELY not be playing games, you should take them out fishing or playing basketball, baseball, or football, you should work on the lawn WITH THEM, help them with their homework, read a book TO them, listen to their feelings about the bullies at school or their new-found “love”. DO SOMETHING.
If anyone noticed, the lists got longer as we went from single, to married, to having kids. To whome much is given, much…MUCH is required.
I am an avid video game player but I would like to share a recent humbling experience I had while walking downtown the other day. I was walking a short distance behind three or so kids (11 year olds I would guess) and they were having nearly the EXACT same conversation about Xbox360 games (CoD, Rock Band, etc.) that I had shared with my friends earlier that week. I’d be a hippocrit if I said that video games weren’t manly, but at the same time it makes you wonder when I share the same hobbies of elementary school boys…
I voted no because the question posed was whether or not video games are manly, and I don’t think they are. However, I don’t consider video games to be unmanly either. Simply put, they’re a hobby no different than working on cars, reading, or playing an instrument. As has been stated by others, the only time it becomes an issue is when you start to put video games ahead of your responsibilities.
Oh man, gunning down all kinds of dudes, taking their flag and taunting them at the end of a match.
Yeah it’s kinda of childish but i think it’s pretty awesome and manily.
Sure it’s not athletic but you’re still excelling at something.
I didn’t vote because like others, I’ve decided that they are neither “manly” nor “unmanly.” Books, television, and other mediums of entertainment cannot be considered gendered in any way. Likewise, I think video games depend on a few points:
1.) Content: Does the game waste your time? Is there an inherent story? One of the reasons I grew up enjoying Wing Commander for PC was the background story. Each mission would play and I would try to hurry through only to see the next cut-scene. More importantly, does this story mean something? Is it the video game equivalent of the Illiad (VERY manly, by the way) or does it have more fluff than a dime-store novel? Does the game have any distinct messages? Can you *learn* something from it?
2.) Time: Are you playing for a matter of minutes or a matter of hours a day? When I was growing up, I fell into the latter (unfortuantely). My dad worked for 12 hours a day while I sat around and watched pixels move across a screen. That was not manly.
Now, I do play video games – but I have priorities – including what I consider to be a very manly profession. Is it getting in the way of other things? How does it compare to the other forms of enrichment we’ve talked about?
3.) Context/Rationale: While this echoes point #1, I think we need to ask ourselves if the game is a want or a need. Obviously, it’s a want – but is it a want that will help us become more manly?
I think it depends on the person as well. Many men are very comfortable away from technology. They spend their time doing things “old school.” Others spend their time as a result of work, school, or other things, glued to technology. I think the latter group (who tend to be younger) has a LOT to learn from the former group. At the same time, because of the way the economy and our culture is headed, it is important to at least be knowledgable about technology – and this includes gaming (but doesn’t require actually playing games).
@JP
Honestly? Thats a response?
Its like an 80′s frat guy and 90′s romantic comedy dude had a love child together and you were born. Its cool if thats you and all, but your argument based on that being the paragon is, at best, askew.
From the classic point of view, no. It is escaping reality, antisocial, addictive and degenerate.
But as has been pointed out below, not all are the same. Wii and DS have become workout appliances for many managers and the likes. Also, certain PC game genres satisfy manly interests like strategy.
I agree with those who have said that video games are boyish, not manly. Having some boyish things in one’s recreational activities isn’t a bad thing, though, unless it conflicts with other responsibilities.
Video games manly?
no
a guilty pleasure?
yes
’nuff said!
Zendad
http://www.zendad.net
Are you kidding??? Real men play games with sharp objects such as axes, jack saws, chainsaws, knives, and so fourth. When real men aren’t playing with sharp objects, they play with objects that make very loud noises and destroy things: shotguns, dynamite, etc.
The fact of the matter is that whilst one is communing with nature, there is no electricity, nor un-manly computers or video games. Real men DO, however, camp near a good watering hole that contains ample cold beer, pretzels and, of course, television upon which the manly man watches real sports (no golf or tennis for me, no. It’s strictly hockey, football, rugby and so forth). And darts, the manly watering hole will have darts. Darts and no doilies. There can be no doilies or those frilly little fru-fru umbrellas in our beverage.
But ABSOLUTELY no video games.
A man does things in the real world. Work, Hunt, ski, mow grass, play ball, fish, bike, be with his woman, read books, and learn what the world is all about from real life experiences. When a video game keeps you away from doing real things in the real world it is not manly.
I agree with Brian, “They’re not manly, but they’re not “dismanlyâ€? either. They’re neutral, in my mind.”
Most video games designed to appeal to men, featuring war, explosions, sports etc, seem to me nothing but a poor substitute for a lack of manliness in the lives of those who play them. I can’t say I know any manly men who play computer games. The one slightly manly friend who does becomes infinitely less manly hen he starts playing them. He’s manly when he is running across a field or lighting a campfire, but he’s just a sweaty adrenaline zombie when he’s in front of a computer screen. Computer games are a refuge for the destitute.
I agree with Evan’s recent comment. No, video games are not manly. All of you “men” who are making weak arguments in favor of your games: have someone videotape you for half an hour of your gaming time, if possible without you knowing when they’ll do it. Then watch the video. Then tell me that looks like a man.
Video games are for kids.
At a first glance, I would say that gaming is neutral – neither manly nor unmanly. However, when thinking more about it, video games do have some manly traits about them. For one thing, I believe they taught me to cooperate with my brother like a well-oiled machine, giving us a strong bond. Family bonds are a manly trait, aren’t they? They also gave me a broad interest in music. An appreciation for the arts is manly, isn’t it? Plus, they’ve inspired many people to create their own games or other artwork, both for fun and to tell a story, and what’s manlier than building stuff?
It depends on the purpose and use of the video game.
If you are the stereotypical gamer, sitting in your parents basement eating pizza and ramen and you’re over 17, you’re a child and manliness is far from you. The biggest thrill you can achieve is a vicarious digital existence, no real risk, no real reward.
I use video games to stay in contact with people, for the most part, or to bleed off stress after a long day supporting computer users.
Playing group games is a fun and engaging party plan that can include a wide age range effectively. Nintendo is excellent for this, with Super Smash Bros. or Mario Cart providing fare that gamers and non-gamers alike can succeed at without a serious learning curve.
Playing online multiply player games with quality people, such as ex-professional gamers who have wives and children and enjoy spending an hour here and there engaging in some fast-paced catch up and bring their children along for the ride or to play along side them is always enjoyable as well. Free from the swearing and puerile behavior found on many game servers, these games are enjoyable and stretching as you engage in team work and effective communication skills to overcome the other teams.
So I believe it depends on how you engage in the games.
Video Games are a valid form of entertainment and continues to gain in popularity. Video Games like anything else, if your responsibilities as a man become neglected, THAT is unmanly.
Video games can be manly. They can be a wonderful way to get closer to your family. And there is always room in life for games. There are some that require great skill and puzzle solving ability to beat.
I guess it comes down to context and people.
I don’t think that video games are by nature manly, but I think that many console makers and game developers cater to a male oriented audience … though “masculine” is not the same as being a “man” :)
The Nintendo Wii is a perfect example of a console that is not-manly, but does have plenty of games that cater towards guys.
Of any of the games out there, I would say that games such as Knights of the Old Republic and various MMOs are probably the best sources of Manliness because they give you an opportunity to “be a man” not just run around and kill stuff :)
Of course, REAL men collect coin-op games!
Just my thoughts …
Video games, in my mind, are neutral. The manner and frequency with which they are played determines the level of manliness. There is nothing wrong with a bit of leisurely activity. Playing for hours and hours daily is not manly, but doing any one pleasurable activity for hours at a time could be considered unmanly. All things in moderation.
It pains me to admit it, seeing as I’ve been playing video games on a regular basis since early 2004, but video games are not manly. Especially if you’re comparing it to all the other things on this website that are considered manly.
Yes, they’re fun. But it’s fun spent sitting on a couch slack-jawed for hours on end sometimes and to me, that’s nothing particularly admirable. And we can try to justify it all we want, saying it takes skill and intellect, but it’s a cop out and we all know it. Working hard, falling in love, raising a family, that takes skill.
Video games are like time and money (and it involves both). What you do with it and how you deal with it shows what kind of a man you are. If taken in moderation and played not more than, say, 2 hours a day gives you plenty of time to do other things after having enjoyed a session of gaming fun.
Game content used to be quite meaningful. Some games give you the chance to make moral decisions on certain things, and the outcome of the game was a result of those decisions. It’s fiction, yes, but it helps you to think about the world around you and look at it in a different perspective. Sadly, recent games have lost the depth that makers used to put in them (older games before 1999).
Nowadays games are made only to appeal to the impulsive nature of gamers (guys and girls, young and old). Pleasing on the eyes, stimulating on the senses. The worst are multiplayer type games that are designed to appeal to the obsessive ‘I want it all’ impulses of players, whereby players have to log hundreds of hours to ‘grind’ for the best items they can get in the game so they can have bragging rights.
There was a research (I read in the paper) saying that video games have more effect on men because it triggers their competitive switch, the nature that drives men to want to excel or conquer. I think, the way the world is currently, men have lost their way in knowing which are the right things to conquer. Nay, MAN has lost his way in the way things are. What used to be entertainment has become a counterfeit conquest for man whose will has been lost through past failures, disappointments, or lack of guidance from men that came before.
Notice how video games are a by-product of a generation that was so intent on making money and wealth, neglecting time with their families, that the generation after created these things to fill their own emotional needs (men do have them, they are just of a different kind than women). Now, this effect is spilling over to affect women too.
Real men will make sure what they do have a positive impact on the generation that comes after them. In the bible, King David served his generation and then went to sleep, and his son King Solomon reaped the benefits of wealth, prosperity and peace (but Solomon blew it all on wives and concubines, bringing the nation into ruin, again).
Er, so, video games… what you do with them makes it manly or unmanly.
I would say some games are “manly.” I find some video games are a good, peaceful way to vent some aggression that might otherwise be channeled in less appropriate ways or bottled up. Blow up a few things or shoot some monsters and one feels a bit better.
I’ve scanned the posts and I love the individuals that state that in order to be manly something has to involve nails and fire and some sort of animal blood letting. Please, a real man knows he is one, plain and simple.
If a man wants to play a video game, so be it. If you don’t that’s fine too. As long as a man gets out there, contributes to society, is good to and provides for his family and sets an example for his children, I could care less if he wants to spend time in front of the tube.
Yes, I play video games (not manly enough for some of you), but I also was a U.S. Marine and am now Law Enforcement/EMT/K9. (Does that make up for my occasional dalliance with the gaming world?) I know I’m a man, and could give a rats A## what you think a real man is. Validation is never necessary in a man’s world.
I think a better version of this question is: “Are recreational distractions manly?”
I don’t see video games as being any different from watching t.v., reading a book or playing a board game. All of those are simply activities that people (not just men) choose to engage in primarily for recreation. Sure, you can take any of those things and take them to an extreme and, admittedly, video games are probably the easiest to get carried away with but I don’t think that a person who engages in video games in a responsible way needs to question manliness because it’s not really an issue.
Now, a guy who shirks his responsibilities to play video games, watch t.v., read a book, ride a pony, obsess over sports stats or learn to throw toothpicks with deadly accuracy (which, while cool, is not cool when you have a term paper to write) needs to question his manliness.
As stated before, the stereotype of gamers (30 somethings, mama’s basement, etc.) is not manly. Just remember that not all people, men or women, who play games are that stereotype.
GRUNT* FART* BELCH*
Yeah, if you ain’t doing some broad or werking with ya hands, yous a bunch of pussies!!!
Reading is the werst of all!!! Curled up wit a book to read!!! Dat sounds pretty gay to me!!!
Watching any man sit for hours being unproductive is not manly. Be a man and spend time with your wife and kids. Do something with your time that will leave a legacy.
Definitely.
They are the modern form of ritualized violence
If you look at the average age of today’s gamer, videogaming has definitely attracted an older crowd. Rickey’s opinion that any venture that involves fragging folks with menacing weaponry is most definitely “manly,” but are videogames mature? It all depends on the character of the person who plays the game and their ability to seperate fantasy from reality. Same thing applies to pornography.
Leadership and strategy are not manly traits.
They are learned skills.
Furthermore, sitting on the couch playing a game. Is not the least bit manly.
Getting out and doing your part to make our world a better place, no matter how seemingly insignificant it may appear, is manly.
Logically it may be surmised thusly:
Order is a manly virtue according to Benjamin Franklin.
Disorder is the opposite of order.
Thus disorder cannot be virtuous.
Entropy is that state of lowest energy and highest disorder.
Playing video games vice contributing to the greater good does not improve order and is of a lower energy state.
Thus playing video games is a state of higher disorder.
If disorder is not virtuous.
Then, playing video games is not virtuous.
If virtue is manly.
And playing video games cannot be virtuous.
Then playing video games cannot be manly!
Are movies manly? Is music manly? How about theater? Board games?
Does it also make sense to have a poll asking, “Are books manly?”
Some games are manly some not. It’s all up to the player no the videogame that defines if videogames are manly or not.
Some people were talking shit about what a real man does o does not and the truth is that a real man does whatever the fuck he wants. A real man follows his own path not whatever other people thinks it’s right or wrong.
Well i think it all depends on the game. you can’t compare Call of Duty 4 with Barney’s Hide and Seek. The way gaming is evolving nowadays, along with awesome technological breakthroughs, anything is possible! I wonder though, with technological breakthroughs, like the Motorokr’s awesome Java capabilities, awesome video playback, and full HTML browser the quality of mobile games would be a super breakthrough, and we can start playing all kinds of games on the go anywhere. What do you guys think?
^IMO the Krave is much smoother. It boast a full touch screen with HTML and bluetooth. (motorola.com/krave) There is no competition!
they are because it teaches and test if a man is strong by having it trying to brain wash the man. if he is still ok it proves.
I decided to abstain from voting because I feel that that it’s all defendant on the situation.
Games that require strategy, coordination, skill, etc. are potential Manly games. The addition of well crafted stories, quality artwork and inspiring music don’t hurt either.
Games that rely on mindless button smashing or involve children’s television characters most likely are not Manly. That being said, enjoying said types of games with one’s children will lean these games into neutral territories. However certain typed of actions, such as intentionally causing distress and mis-givings among other gamers though intentional player killing and stealing the hard won items and rewards of others, are not and likely never will be Manly.
When it’s all said and done, the Manliness or lack there of with regards to video games is all dependent upon which games one is speaking of, how one interacts with others while playing and what the circumstances are when one is playing them.
videogames are definetly NOT manliness, all these games transform a man into a boy, I had a lot of games on my PC and I delete them all , Why ? Because a videogame cannot help you pursuit the real passions in life , a videogame keeps you imprisoned in your home for nights making some stupid , useless points instead of going somewhere with your friends or girlfriend.
All that bunch of games create the illusion of happiness just for a few moments and keeps you away from the real life, I speak from a previous experience.
There’s a say: <> and I strongly agree with that.
videogames are definetly NOT manliness, all these games transform a man into a boy, I had a lot of games on my PC and I delete them all , Why ? Because a videogame cannot help you pursuit the real passions in life , a videogame keeps you imprisoned in your home for nights making some stupid , useless points instead of going somewhere with your friends or girlfriend.
All that bunch of games create the illusion of happiness just for a few moments and keeps you away from the real life, I speak from a previous experience.
There’s a say: THE THINGS YOU OWN WILL OWN YOU and I strongly agree with that.
Video games are manly sometimes. Games like Gears of war and Dawn of war and Halo can be manly. But only if you don’t overdo it and make the transfer into nerdiness.
When I was a kid (I am 38) we had Atari, then intellivision, then NES and so on. The one thing they all had in common was they were toys–like babies play with from the toy box. They are a collosal waste of time. I wish I had the kind of time in my life to sit around for 12 hours straight in my underwear and at the end, be no wiser, deeper or more intelligent.
When I was younger my older brother was the first kid in the neighborhood to own one of the early consoles. The kids would all come over and compete with each other on it, which grew our friendships. Today some of us are still in contact; though we don’t have time to play games together (families and distance have grown between us). It is a bit of comradery that I look back on with a bit of pride. It seems to me, to be a healthy release of aggression, that requires mental focus in a way that some of my other outlets have not. Along with sports and what I’ve learned from Boy Scouts, I look forward to teaching my son the games that I and his “uncles” played. I believe it does not equate to climbing a mountain, fighting in a war or defending the helpless. I understand there are many activities that come to mind when one wonders “what is manly”, but it certainly doesn’t diminish it. The rest of your life will stand as its own testament. Allow yourselves some down time.
Personally, I think video games are a complete and utter waste of time. They take away time, focus, and energy to do other more manly things. Thus – NOT manly!
I kind of go with the gender neutrality issue…what I believe is that playing video games isn’t what makes one more (or less) manly, I just believe that it’s unmanly to be hooked on them to the point where nothing else in your life gets done.
I play my PS2 a few hours a day, but I also go to school and work during the day. I work in the film program at my school, and I do quite a bit in my normal day. Those guys who spend hours upon hours upon hours playing something like World of Warcraft to the point where they drop out of college, lose their jobs, lose their friends, or even DIE (read some of the headlines…it’s weird how addicted some people are), then that’s unmanly.
Playing video games isn’t any more or less manly than going to this site and reading about what it means to be man.
Any recreational activity taken to extremes will lead to one to neglect other aspects of one’s life and therefore could be considered unmanly.
Especially sitting on the internet posting comments about what constitutes manliness.. (!)
Video games are likely to become more popular and ubiquitous than all other entertainment media within the next twenty years or so, like it or not.
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
-Robert A. Heinlein
Videogames are almost as unmanly as non-videogames like chess and football. What man would ever touch any of that?
Ok, the really big names in videogames basically work like movies. Once in awhile somebody does something artistic (and about as often somebody does something with merits like what gold ole chess has got,) but mostly people just put out action movies because it isn’t hard to get people to watch blood sprays, explosions, and exploding blood sprays. Next most common thing is bad drama and there’s just a little comedy left before you get to those rare two I mentioned up front.
So are movies manly? Some are, some aren’t, most are boyish or girlish so which ones are we talking about? Obviously you won’t see many people ouside of generation Y picturing their fathers engaging them but there was a time when people didn’t recall their fathers watching movies about cars chased by explosions even though practically all of our fathers watch those from time to time today.
I read a comment, too lazy to point out which, which said men shouldn’t be playing GAMES, they should be playing football, or baseball, or going fishing.
Because those aren’t games. Seriously.
There isn’t a decent argument you can make for games being unmanly that does not also exclude Music, Film, and Literature.
Escapism is good in small doses. It prevents close mindedness, which I see quite a bit of in these comments.
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