33 Heartwarming Moments Showing How Guys Are Nailing Their Own Kind of Awesome

Turns out, there's this thing called the “M factor,” which is kinda like a bad attitude mashup of macho boasting, messing with equality, and not-so-great behavior. It’s a thing researchers are actually studying to get to the bottom of some sideways ideas about what being a man means.

These brainiacs surveyed over 6,000 people about how they think about being a man, family stuff, and how some groups online are pushing super old-school, bossy guy vibes. Spoiler: Not everyone’s on board with that.

About one-in-five men, and a few women too, sometimes harbor this M factor mumbo jumbo. It’s more common in younger guys and in places where the party’s maybe a bit quieter than the big city hustle.

Heads up: Guys with less schooling or fewer job perks tend to score higher on the M factor. Also, if your family roots vibe with old-fashioned ‘men rule’ stuff, you might see more of this going on. Oh, and feeling left out can make the whole ‘tough guy’ act seem like a lifesaver.

The M factor fans often think moms and dads should stick to their ‘classic’ roles and aren’t shy about thinking that boys and girls need totally different parenting. Bonus: They sometimes think being strict and even rough with kids is a-okay.

Sadly, this M factor also links up with more drama and fights in relationships, for both men and women who also see that ‘male supremacy’ stuff as normal. Yikes.

Since the ‘70s, the idea of masculinity has gotten a lot more creative with all kinds of flavors from caring to toxic. If you wanna figure out where *you* fit, there’s a neat little checklist you can try to see which ‘masculine’ traits actually feel right to you and which ones are just noise.