What does it mean to be a real man? or a real woman? I heard this addressed in a one-man play on Broadway, Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman.
The narrator took us back to the days of the cave dwellers, deftly drawing connections between modern masculine behavior and the tough guy hunter role of Stone Age males. He related what are considered feminine traits to the female cave dweller's softer, nurturing role as gatherer. The message was that the sooner we understand our cave dweller roots, the better we will understand our contemporary roles, strengths, weaknesses, and learn how to appreciate each other. ...
The narrator told the story of a man going to a mall to buy just one shirt to replace an old and worn one. He drew a connection between this tunnel vision and a hunter who eyes his prey, chases, captures, and bags it, and returns to his cave. Our storyteller then described a woman spending a day at a mall looking for and carefully selecting many items that would last her through the season. He likened her to a gatherer in the field, selecting a wide array of the best berries and nuts to preserve for future use. I laughed. I could see myself and my husband playing out these roles.
