Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Oberservation of the Gen X & Y Male at Home Depot

We often lament the decline of the "Man's man" and the rise of the Metrosexual. My trip to Home Depot this weekend gave me reason to pause and consider the trend.

I was there to get a toilet rebuilt kit. Simple enough to change out the old innards in the tank. Takes all of ten minutes. While I'm grabbing the kit, a couple in there late twenties is in the same aisle and discussing their project that somehow involved a paint brush. The dominant female was telling the Metro male she was going back to get paint brush in the paint department. He seemed confused. "You're going to buy a paint brush?" "Yes, I need a paint brush." Simple enough, but the dude had that same look and sound of uncertainty as my wife when tell her things like "the crank sensor went out on your car" or "our son's online gaming is eating all of our bandwidth". It is the look of someone who really doesn't grasp the situation well enough to understand it.

Divorce has given America two generations of a bunch males raised by Mom. Very few of these moms were hand around the house and could even change a lightbulb in most cases. Nobody taught the boys the basics of being a useful handyman. I'm sure Mr. Metro would have needed to go online and watch 90 minutes of Youtube videos before he would have had the courage to tackle my toilet project.

That same situation has raised boys without hunting, without fishing, without guns. They have been led by the Matriarchal school system and we have on our hands a bunch of neutered young males that are used to taking orders from women. Some women will like that just fine, but none will ever really respect the neutered male. They have girl friends to gossip and shop with. They can use a man who is handy around the house and projects and image of strength instead of someone who is weak and vulnerable like the women often feel in threatening situations.

Maybe I'm jaded. Anyone else have that observation?

along with the over all dumbing down of America, we are also dealing with the pussification of American men. Single mothers, public schools, Title IX, gender confusion, and a host of other reasons, but it's real.

Yep. I went off on a couple of carpet-munchers at a party a few months back that were basically trying to excoriate men to anyone that would listen by saying how much better the world would be if testosterone was eliminated.

Told them that testosterone was the only reason their fat, ugly asses were not still living in a cave, eating raw plants, and thinking the world was flat. With no chocolate to make things better when they got all teary.

Except that Gen Xrs are pushing 50 now and Gen Yrs are right behind them. Your thinking of millenials.

Very true. Add in the total time being in front of a screen instead of playing outside or earning spending money, it just goes downhill.

Differences abound. Dad left home when I was 12. Right at the time I was needing a dad around. But I will say that my mom assured I got to do
"Manly" stuff! She was the one that assured I got to deer hunt and fish! And the fact that I had ample WWII vets around as role Models was a big plus!

Those were different times.

I concur that there exists lots of fellows out there that missed out on a lot of positive life experiences in the past 30 or so years. But I saw the pussification factor occuring while raising my own boys. At school and they assorted youth organizations. All part of the plan.

Can't speak for Gen Y but there are many Gen X'ers that are able to do for themselves.

necessity is a big driver for it.

My daughter and son in law had a flat tire on her Corolla a couple of weeks ago. He did not even attempt to change the damn tire and called AAA. He honestly had no idea how to do it, and even less inclination to try. He is, by the way, 6'1" and 260 pounds. It is the stuff of doughnuts and junk food, however. Nice guy, but loves fluffy bunnies and Pokemon. Sheesh.

So what was the paintbrush for?

My wife has a niece who's a single mother and she's never been very good at it, to say the least. She has an acute medical problem and has been in an ICU for several weeks now with a very poor chance of surviving it. Even if she survives it, she'll likely never be able to function normally again.
She has a 16 yo son who's never had a father. Most likely, he'll be living with his mid-50's grandmother whether his mom survives or not.
Granny is a widow who knows how things are done. She's twice the man that mom ever could be and I think she'd be good for the boy. He'll learn how to remodel a house among other things. Granny knows how to swing a hammer and crank a wrench. He'll also encounter the wrath of Granny if he ever touches a drug and that's something you don't want to encounter.

We have noticed this trend while playing dirty Santa at Christmas. None of the millennial males want anything to do with tools or hunting/fishing related stuff. They tend to choose any candy, gift cards, or car wash stuff that they get the opportunity at. It amazes me because these youngsters were raised by some pretty rugged folks. I am doing EVERYTHING I can to make sure my son doesn't turn out that way. Heck, he is already more of a real dude at 8 years old than some of them in their 20s & 30s!

To dust off the gold fish of course!

They're a product of their upbringing.

The older generation sure likes to condemn these metrosexual kids with no idea of how to be a man. But they're not so quick to condemn themselves for being too self absorbed to spend time with their kids, or condemn themselves and their friends for being philandering husbands that can't keep a marriage together.

My gripe about millennials is lack of initiative.

young employee: "This customer sent an inquiry, and I've emailed him twice with no reply"

me: "call him"

I also recall teaching a Gen X'er to change the oil on his car. He was more of a big city kid, smart guy, MBA in Finance from a good school, but had never worked on his car before. He did at least want to learn how to do it.

I see soft men in all generations. Obesity is such a giant issue with men that it's effecting all generations.

Video games are the killer of teenage males, IMO. Couple that with a sugar addiction and they are rendered almost useless. Pretty sad, IMO. Many adult males who grew up that way are also pretty useless.

Maybe they already had paint brushes at home and he didn't understand why she was buying another one.

Good women (mothers) WILL find positive male roll models if the husband has vacated. Bad mothers are bad mothers, just as bad fathers are bad fathers.

I've seen guys 15 to 70 that haven't a clue how to turn a wrench, so I don't think it's generational.

I will say, it's FAR more common in URBAN/CITY environments. My best workers out of boot camp were always the farm boys, the worse were the city kids.

It really is amazing.

I'm never surprised these days at kids 18 to 30 who've never been camping, fishing, never fired as much as an air rifle, couldn't put a male plug on the end of an electrical cord, never attempted to change the oil in their own vehicle, etc

ISIS is salivating

The only upside I see is all the hot women you see at Home Depot and Lowe's who need advice or help finding something. I don't work at either place but I'm usually easier to find than an employee when they have questions.

I was damn lucky! And I try to play it forward. There are lots of young men That want to learn or know stuff. I dunno a lot, but I try to pass on what I do know when I'm around them and they are willing to learn!

Most I've been around think it's neat to know how to do old stuff.