We live in a strange time in which many people talk about masculinity but very few people can describe what it really is or serve as role models of it. The goalposts of being a “real man” seem to shift with every new popular movement or speaker, as each group defines manliness in novel ways that highlight themselves as the real man, and all others as failures. In a confused world, the writer attempts to present a simple definition of masculinity that transcends cultural boundaries.