Action vs Reaction: Unmanly Redux

[terorizer]

A spinoff from Artoo's thread. It occurred to me as I read some of the responses it in fact is not the action, but the reaction which people take into account for their responses. Makes me wonder if in fact it's a matter of being tickled or being ticklish.

So I'm curious to know from those who answered affirmatively (or close to it), would you still consider it unmanly for a man to be tickled, if:

-The man was not ticklish/didn't react?
-The man's reaction is simply to squirm a little bit?
-The man's reaction is only a deep, masculine chuckle?
-The man's reaction is just becoming extremely sexually aroused?
-The man stops reacting after a very short period?
-The man can mentally control his ticklishness?

 

[Babbles]

Though I wouldn't really think being tickled "unmanly" to begin,
so I don't really fit the audience you're seeking,

I'll just comment those are great questions

since those specific reactions could definitely be perceived (as a bit more "macho...")

 

[Skipadeedoodah]

I'm not gonna lie -- I think seeing a guy squirming around and screaming like a girl is kind of unmanly in the traditional sense. However, if a guy gets tickled and just lets out a low chuckle or giggle, it's just about the sexiest thing ever. I think that's because I love to hear guys laugh. I dunno, but there's my 2 cents 🙂

 

[Johnny Ticklish]

Being tickled isn't unmanly. It's a situation any of us can find ourselves in. Terorizer has nailed it though. It's the reactions that can be unmanly. Most of us handle it well but then there's Psymon.

 

[Scarlett Moon]

OMG Johnny, I SAW that! Eww!

 

[Deleted member 66627]

-The man was not ticklish/didn't react? No.
-The man's reaction is simply to squirm a little bit? No.
-The man's reaction is only a deep, masculine chuckle? No.
-The man's reaction is just becoming extremely sexually aroused? Depends on if it is a lover, or a friend.
-The man stops reacting after a very short period? No.
-The man can mentally control his ticklishness? No.



It's mainly reaction's with me, Yes. Hearing a man giggle, and squeal just totally kills anything for me.

More power to the rest, just my personal feeling.

 

[ReyaFet]

That's mean. Psymon can't help his reactions to being tickled. He's a pretty masculine guy and a great friend of mine and I think he has alot of balls to let people tickle him on camera, especially since he hates it so much. So seeing this post is rather upsetting.

Being tickled isn't unmanly. It's a situation any of us can find ourselves in. Terorizer has nailed it though. It's the reactions that can be unmanly. Most of us handle it well but then there's Psymon.

 

[Myriads]

At the base of things, there is nothing unmanly about how a guy reacts to being tickled.

They are a male. They react as they will react to tickling. It’s thus a male reaction. And thus again, a ‘Manly one’.

But once you have to ask the question through our culture’s prism, then you’ll see a spectrum of feelings result.

The issue with the question is that it’s basically mapping a sociological expectation/reaction onto a specific sub-communities activity.

People bring their greater outside perspective to the action.

Males in the greater culture have a ‘behavioral matrix’ that is seen as acceptable behavior for a male in our time and culture. Things outside that matrix would mark a male as ‘un-male’ or feminine in the cultures eyes.

Now tickle a male and produce the usual reactions, and one gets an appearance that is at a cross with what is the ‘accepted’ way males should appear in the culture. Basically not helpless and out of control. Vulnerable. Perhaps weak to being exploited. We are outside of the cultures matrix for ok behavior.

For some to see this expectation breached is very disturbing. It’s a cognitive conflict with what they have been taught and ‘know’ that males should be and represent. To these folks it’s a turn off to a high level (As Crystal notes above) a male that acts this way looses some of their ‘maleness’ and thus must be re-classified. In most cases the class shift is into ‘undesirable partner’ for the individual. For some males viewing the activity, active repulsion results. They see a gender representation failing at its assigned roll. That in turn threatens their own security in the roll on a non aware level (Would that happen to me?). Thus feeding back into more unease at the activity.

For a Dominate woman perhaps the exact opposite is true. The fact that they can be the agent for causing a male to behave in a non-cultural appropriate way is HOT. This may even be the basis for their behavior, as they get off on causing males to behave in such a way, as a sign of power etc. They cause the rules to be BROKEN. Their making a male a giggling mess is a sign of their power over the individual, and the gender by extending the view. Thus the woman is redefining herself also by the activity. Playing with the societies gender and power equations. A lot of sex is motivated by this equation (think of the endless ‘women in power’ getting tickled silly fantasies one finds in the media on the forum. Superheroes, explores, professionals all seem to need to be reduced to helpless writhing girls)

So every person will come to a different answer here. Most based on ‘gut’ feelings. Which are in fact the product of a long train of training by the culture and society, then flavored with the sexuality and personal philosophy of the person.

For the average American The opinion of seeing a male tickled and responding as Psymon does is heavily shaded into ‘that’s not right’.

It’s not a personal condemnation of Psymon. It’s a reflection of greater forces that guide our behaviors that quietly build up on us when we don’t even know we are ‘being taught’.

We all have a idea of what being a ‘male’ or ‘female’ in society means. When we encounter things that challenge that. We react strongly.

/m material here on the TMF is one such area that challenges thusly.

Pleasingly people have been slowly coming to see it outside of the cultures box.

Many here now see how Psymon reacts as a Human reaction. And that’s progress from a decade ago.

Myriads

 

[giggle-maker]

I enjoy being tickled. I like how it feels. It does cause me to giggle, even scream sometimes. For all my life I've considered this a normal reaction to being tickled. I couldn't even imagine that being tickled durring sex or foreplay...or any other time for that matter, would be considered unmanly.

So.....the only way to preserve my manhood is to not be tickled in the first place?

I don't think so!




BTW...Psymon has balls that'll fit in an earth-mover for agreeing to be tickled like that. I bet there are quite a few guys on this forum that would love to be in his position. Myself included.

 

[ReyaFet]

Thanks for the support, GM. 🙂 Where have you been, man?

I enjoy being tickled. I like how it feels. It does cause me to giggle, even scream sometimes. For all my life I've considered this a normal reaction to being tickled. I couldn't even imagine that being tickled durring sex or foreplay...or any other time for that matter, would be considered unmanly.

So.....the only way to preserve my manhood is to not be tickled in the first place?

I don't think so!




BTW...Psymon has balls that'll fit in an earth-mover for agreeing to be tickled like that. I bet there are quite a few guys on this forum that would love to be in his position. Myself included.

 

[LeeAllure]

BTW...Psymon has balls that'll fit in an earth-mover for agreeing to be tickled like that. I bet there are quite a few guys on this forum that would love to be in his position. Myself included.

I totally agree! I think a lot of guys haven't been tickled to that
extent, EVER, and don't realise the effort it takes to not react, when
you're so sensitive, or to react, and have that kind of exercise take
its toll on you! It's really an amazing workout, and I've always found
power/endurance athletes very manly.

...
I didn't answer these in any way before, but
So I'm curious to know from those who answered affirmatively (or close to it), would you still consider it unmanly for a man to be tickled, if:

-The man was not ticklish/didn't react?
-The man's reaction is simply to squirm a little bit?
-The man's reaction is only a deep, masculine chuckle?
-The man's reaction is just becoming extremely sexually aroused?
-The man stops reacting after a very short period?
-The man can mentally control his ticklishness?


I find non-ticklish/reactive men kind of boring, and will also lose interest
if they stop reacting, or can control it. It's no longer fun for me (although
I love seeing them TRY to control it!) I think it's far more manly to have
the reactions, and take the intense tickling as long as they're able 🙂

Lee

 

[giggle-maker]

Thanks for the support, GM. 🙂 Where have you been, man?

Wassup Addie...I sent you an IM the other day! LOL.

Anyhoo, don't get yerself upset by anyone posting on a tickling forum, questioning the masculenity of Psymon for reacting to being tickled!

That's just fucking stupid.


Why are we here again?

 

[giggle-maker]

I totally agree! I think a lot of guys haven't been tickled to that
extent, EVER, and don't realise the effort it takes to not react, when
you're so sensitive, or to react, and have that kind of exercise take
its toll on you! It's really an amazing workout, and I've always found
power/endurance athletes very manly.

...
I didn't answer these in any way before, but
So I'm curious to know from those who answered affirmatively (or close to it), would you still consider it unmanly for a man to be tickled, if:

-The man was not ticklish/didn't react?
-The man's reaction is simply to squirm a little bit?
-The man's reaction is only a deep, masculine chuckle?
-The man's reaction is just becoming extremely sexually aroused?
-The man stops reacting after a very short period?
-The man can mentally control his ticklishness?


I find non-ticklish/reactive men kind of boring, and will also lose interest
if they stop reacting, or can control it. It's no longer fun for me (although
I love seeing them TRY to control it!) I think it's far more manly to have
the reactions, and take the intense tickling as long as they're able 🙂

Lee

Although most of the time I'm silent and just absorbing the sensations, there are spots that cause me to either scream or giggle or whatever. I don't care about "holding it in". Rather, I tend to just let the reactions do their own thing.


**Honestly, I don't like where these masculenity questions are taking us. I'm not homophobic by any means, and although being tickled by another guy isn't my thing, I can't grasp the idea of a man being tickled by a woman is qustionable by fellow ticklephiles on this forum of all places, as being unmanly.



I don't get it.

 

[Excess]

Well for me...

my issue with many male lees is the same as the one with some female lees, not the reaction, but the extreme submissiveness that many seem to have. But as far as reactions, well it's, as said, seen as unmanly because it doesn't fit the general idea of what manly is.

See, the thing is, there ARE differences between men and women. This is just a fact. Men are 'manly' because, well, they're MEN! If the word manly didn't come from male attributes somehow, then it wouldn't be called manly, now would it? There is a word called 'womanly' too y'know, and it didn't come from nothing either. And no, despite what the feminists would have you believe, it is not sexist to think of a woman as womanly.

So really, it isn't some horrible thing to think of the two by what is typically naturally attributed to them. And because many people do think of it like that, seeing one sex act in extreme accordance with the other sex's attributes is usually odd to others of the same sex. You ask 'Is tickling unmanly?'. Well I ask 'Is tickling unwomanly?' and 'Is tickling really more closely attributed to one sex?'. People do bash men for being 'unmanly', but they also bash women for being 'unwomanly' too. So what it all comes down to is what your definition of a manly is.

As far as the majority of society though, being manly isn't screaming and crying with laughter (especially if it's high pitched, as that is attributed to women, being that women typically have higher pitched voices). That isn't just me saying that due to my own thoughts on the matter, that's me saying it based on common knowledge. It's just how it is. Don't like it? Then just do your own thing and forget about others.