Starting at an early age, most men are taught to behave like a so-called "real man." For some men, this image is an easy one to assimilate, given that they are born with that temperament. Such individuals are usually less open about expressing their emotions and affection. On the other hand, there are those who find that such behavior is a constraint on their expression and a obstacle in the path to self-realization.
Social pressures, however, often lead to those individuals being compelled into behaving in a way that does not reflect their true nature. Sometimes this comes out of fear that not acting "manly" enough would be indicative of a character flaw.
This type of imitation is akin to a little boy who secretly tries on his father's suit in the hope of looking like a man. Needless to say, the little boy will look silly, as the suit will be much to big for him.
Every man has his own character traits. Tears from a woman reflect her softness of heart, while a man seen crying is a sign of tenderness. Men who embrace their true identity are real men indeed.
The epitome of masculinity and femininity are few and far between. But there are plenty of men and women who wear their gender in what could be characterized as neutral colors.
A man should be free to paint his life with colors from the feminine side. He should be able to shed tears upon hearing a touching story, display his emotions freely and -- lo and behold -- even show his weaknesses. But still, he is a real man.
Similarly, a woman who shares characteristics which would normally be associated with masculinity -- reserved feelings, an ability to fix a car -- is still a woman.
Men and women who break the chains of social constraints have more freedom and are as a result more complete.
Frances Huang
Kaohsiung
The conflict in the Middle East has been disrupting financial markets, raising concerns about rising inflationary pressures and global economic growth. One market that some investors are particularly worried about has not been heavily covered in the news: the private credit market. Even before the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global capital markets had faced growing structural pressure — the deteriorating funding conditions in the private credit market. The private credit market is where companies borrow funds directly from nonbank financial institutions such as asset management companies, insurance companies and private lending platforms. Its popularity has risen since
The Donald Trump administration’s approach to China broadly, and to cross-Strait relations in particular, remains a conundrum. The 2025 US National Security Strategy prioritized the defense of Taiwan in a way that surprised some observers of the Trump administration: “Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority.” Two months later, Taiwan went entirely unmentioned in the US National Defense Strategy, as did military overmatch vis-a-vis China, giving renewed cause for concern. How to interpret these varying statements remains an open question. In both documents, the Indo-Pacific is listed as a second priority behind homeland defense and
Every analyst watching Iran’s succession crisis is asking who would replace supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Yet, the real question is whether China has learned enough from the Persian Gulf to survive a war over Taiwan. Beijing purchases roughly 90 percent of Iran’s exported crude — some 1.61 million barrels per day last year — and holds a US$400 billion, 25-year cooperation agreement binding it to Tehran’s stability. However, this is not simply the story of a patron protecting an investment. China has spent years engineering a sanctions-evasion architecture that was never really about Iran — it was about Taiwan. The
In an op-ed published in Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Taiwan should not have to choose between aligning with Beijing or Washington, and advocated for cooperation with Beijing under the so-called “1992 consensus” as a form of “strategic ambiguity.” However, Cheng has either misunderstood the geopolitical reality and chosen appeasement, or is trying to fool an international audience with her doublespeak; nonetheless, it risks sending the wrong message to Taiwan’s democratic allies and partners. Cheng stressed that “Taiwan does not have to choose,” as while Beijing and Washington compete, Taiwan is strongest when
RSS