4 అక్టోబర్, 2026

"I never liked that term, 'guy's guy.'"

Said Meade, reading the previous post, the one about the man who shot the rooster named Nixon.

That sounds like one of those sentences that makes me think I'm experiencing another bout of transient alexia.

What's wrong with the phrase "guy's guy"? I'd ask Meade but he's watching that video I sent him, the one with a guy named Larry listing a lot of things he's not going to do anymore now that he's 72.

Left to my own devices I went looking for "guy's guy" in my blog archive. I believe I've only used the phrase once: "Now, if everyone would please dial down all the criticism and let Obama get on with his un-self-conscious guy's guy agenda, it will all work out just fine."

That was in an October 26, 2009 post called  "Obama's White House boy's club." And I was using the phrase jokingly echoing something the NYT had written: 
Does the White House feel like a frat house?

The suspicion flared in recent weeks — and not for the first time — after President Obama was criticized by women’s advocates and liberal bloggers for hosting a high-level basketball game with no female players.

The president, after all, is an unabashed First Guy’s Guy....

He presides over a White House rife with fist-bumping young men who call each other “dude” and testosterone-brimming personalities like Rahm Emanuel, the often-profane chief of staff; Lawrence Summers, the brash economic adviser; and Robert Gibbs, the press secretary, who habitually speaks in sports metaphors....
Interesting. Remember that? This gets my old "Obama and manliness" tag. Lawrence Summers... hmm... what if you were a guy's guy and the guy was Epstein?

Meade finished the Larry video and I did get a chance to ask what was the problem with "guy's guy," but it was a long conversation that went all over the place and involved many detours and contradictions. Was it an insult or a compliment? Why is anyone pleased to fit a stereotype? Are those within the stereotype there because they really want to do these things — what things? hunting? — or because they want to fit in? Is there a female equivalent? "Woman's woman" isn't an expression. What would it even mean? And much more. I aired my theory of the Bluto/Popeye distinction. Would a guy's guy have such a conversation?

23 కామెంట్‌లు:

Yancey Ward చెప్పారు...

Yeah, the manliness of the Obama White House really stood out to everyone.

Ann Althouse చెప్పారు...

Grok gave me this: ""Girl's girl" has become common in the last decade or so, especially online. It means a woman who is loyal to female friends, doesn't compete by undercutting them, and generally sides with other women rather than centering male attention. That is closer in structure—"X's X"—but the content is solidarity and anti-rivalry, not "stereotypically feminine and preferred by other women for that reason." You can be a girl's girl without being particularly girly, and a very feminine woman can still be described as not a girl's girl if she is seen as throwing other women under the bus."

tommyesq చెప్పారు...

Is a "guy's guy" different from a "man's man?"

michaele చెప్పారు...

My, how times have changed...nowadays, Obama seems so pussy whipped by Michelle.

Ice Nine చెప్పారు...

Bless you for explaining that you said it jokingly, Althouse. I don't think I could have gone on.

Biff చెప్పారు...

It's always amusing when the NYT reveals whom it considers to be brimming with testosterone.

rehajm చెప్పారు...

…slight breach of form, frat boi Larry Summers was brought to heel by the witchy scolds…

rehajm చెప్పారు...

…did they happen to mention the amount of alexia needed so it no longer classifies as just passing through?

Earnest Prole చెప్పారు...

Similarly, I’ve never liked the terms, ‘buddy’ and ‘bud.’

bagoh20 చెప్పారు...

Gay

Ann Althouse చెప్పారు...

"Bless you for explaining that you said it jokingly, Althouse. I don't think I could have gone on."

Man up.

john mosby చెప్పారు...

Yep, even Obama knows that men could hurt women in basketball - even when one of the men is Obama. CC, JSM

Howard చెప్పారు...

Meade must fancy himself a lady boy

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent చెప్పారు...

In our house we say “massive lad” but we’ve been listening to way too much The Rest is History.
And I’m only half-joking since I’ve noticed we also say things like “very poor behavior” and “let himself down” without irony. I’ve never considered myself impressionable, so it’s interesting to see a family’s speech changed, however slightly, by an outside influence.

Hey Skipper చెప్పారు...

A guy's guy doesn't have a feminine side with which to get in touch.

Smilin' Jack చెప్పారు...

“The president, after all, is an unabashed First Guy’s Guy....”

Trump is more of a ladies man, which is a lot more fun.

Aggie చెప్పారు...

'...testosterone-brimming personalities like Rahm Emanuel...'

Sure, that's the first thing that comes to mind when his name is mentioned. Robert Reich, too.

A guy's guy is somebody that anybody with practical handy experience or athletic ability would feel comfortable hanging out with. A guy with a shop in his garage, who hunts or camps, or regularly visits a supply house. He may or may not be blue collar. There's a certain kinship there - and they are never narcissists. Obama was never a 'guy's guy'.

tcrosse చెప్పారు...

Jeeves was a gentleman's gentleman.

tcrosse చెప్పారు...

"Regular guy" or "ordinary guy" are more common.

Joe Bar చెప్పారు...

Lately I've been hearing the term "a comic's comic" a lot on podcasts.

I'm feeling a "guy's guy" is the same as a "dude's dude."

Smilin' Jack చెప్పారు...

If Bernie had been elected he’d be a bro’s bro.

Hassayamper చెప్పారు...

Trump is more of a ladies man, which is a lot more fun.

My late father was that way. He was devotedly faithful to my mom and never set a foot out of line, but he was a leader of men and the very center of female attention in any room he entered. I got none of his charisma and less than his share of handsome good looks, but it was successfully passed down to my son.

Lloyd W. Robertson చెప్పారు...

James Garner. Guy's guy.

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