I came up with this about a week ago. Like any not-really-developed theory, it has a lot of holes in it and is based largely on stereotypes. For these things, I do apologize upfront. I do think there’s a bit of validity on it, though, or else I wouldn’t even put down some thoughts.
First things first: I used to have this joke back in my 20s. I usually said it to girls and a lot of times it was a way to try and get somewhere romantically (sexually?) with them. The whole crux of it was, “Well, men are so limited.” I could usually make this work because I’m pretty overtly masculine — large, off-task man — but I can talk about things like romantic comedies, Beyonce, female backstabbing, travel, and the like (so essentially I can resonate with females). I would sometimes extend the joke to “Sometimes in the morning, I weep for being a man.” That part probably sounds a little over-dramatic. You know what? It is. But 20-something males aren’t the greatest people on Earth.
And now we come to the point.
Second things second: I hate the word “pussy” in the female anatomy context, but I used it here for alliterative purposes.
The idea: many men (and remember, I said this borrows from stereotypes) to chase pussy (romantic connections or sexual flings) and then profit (bigger, better, higher-paying jobs). Those are the things that a lot of men focus on: good (but ideally attractive) wife and big salary + home + material possessions. Oftentimes when you eventually are finished chasing the pussy side of the equation (ideally when you get in a long-term relationship or get married), then you spend more time on the profit side (which makes sense, because maybe you’re about to have some kids, and they require some money to be fed and clothed, etc.)
You see this pussy-profit paradigm play out all over the place: for example, we care a great deal in the workforce about revenue/profit-facing skills. We want guys who can drive profit and drive results. Look at what managers self-evaluate as important, then think about how much managers care about things like “talent strategy.” Most workplaces don’t tend to communicate well. Most workplaces tend to be led by guys. There’s an obvious coincidence there — the joke about guys not communicating or listening is nearly literally as old as time — but do we stop and think about why?
It’s because the role of a man is about capturing beauty and greatness in his net, then proving to others his worth and capturing money, vacations, houses, cars, and material possessions in his net.
The pussy-profit paradigm.
The expectations and concepts around men don’t change much from that, give or take — and again, please, this is meant to be generalized. Every person walking the Earth is a little bit unique in their own way. It doesn’t mean every man, or even the man you’re closest to, feels or behaves this way.
What do you think: could this be an explainer for why men can sometimes be awful, or so narrowly-focused?
