The definition of “macho” that was given was pretty vague: “a stereotypical, old-school, John Wayne- and Sylvester Stallone-style approach to life”.

Whatever that means … she seems to be assuming that Hollywood movies are in fact an accurate reflection on how people actually live and behave. And that’s probably very far from the case, as why would people pay lots of money to go and see a movie that just replicates what they see around themselves (for free) every day? Escapism works only if you escape to a different way of living and behaving.

As for whether a more macho man (however defined) is one who is also more stressed and certainly more prone to early death, that also doesn’t necessarily follow. There was a time when the “Type A” personality (which is probably a more specific version of what “macho” might be) was supposed to correlate with heart disease. As I recall, though, the subsequent research on “Type A” personalities narrowed the negative effect down to just one aspect, that being “bitterness”. Hard-charging “Type A” guys who were not bitter at the world did just fine.

And that fits with what I’ve observed over the years. The hardest-charging “Type A” guys that I’ve known have been CEOs, and they tended to be (and to stay) in excellent health.

The “Type A” guys who were bitter were not the guys at the top of the pyramid (what is there to be bitter about if you made $40 million last year?). It was guys at lower rungs of the executive pecking order who had been passed over. There used to be a saying among CEOs to the effect that “I don’t GET stress … I GIVE stress!”

And there’s much truth to that … stress in a man reflects NOT being in control of his environment. If your wife pushes you around at home and your boss pushes you around at work, then you’ll be the kind of guy who will experience much stress as a result, will be likelier to neglect your health and in time will probably come down with life-shortening health issues.

I suspect that it isn’t “being a macho man” that causes health problems for guys, it’s “being an unsuccessful man”. So rather than “getting in touch with their feminine side”, it might make more sense for men to “get back in touch with their masculine side”.

Thanks very much for commenting and have a great day.

Mack Doppler

excellent points about the connection of science and is the “study” really a study or not.

I would imagine that a more “macho” man is one who is also more stressed and certainly more prone to early death.

Did the USA TODAY article cite a definition for what they mean by “Macho?”

Happy dating and relationships, man

April Braswell