20 Things That Make A Man

On last night’s episode of “My Boys,” the character of Bobby got a little obsessed with what actually makes a “real man” and he enlisted all his friends to undertake 100 tasks that a man should be able to do. An interest in Nascar is not really my idea of manliness, but there are some qualities and abilities that are. Here are 20 things that make a man, according to us Frisky editors. Care to add another 20 more?

1. He’s always polite to your parents to their faces, but just with you he agrees they’re bonkers.
2. He kills the spider … or at least catches it and puts it outside.
3. He’s not afraid for you to see him cry.
4. He knows women love Don Draper because Don Draper is smoking hot, not because we actually want to date an adulterous alcoholic leading a double life.
5. He never calls anyone a “fag.”
6. He does the premenstrual tampons-and-Ben-&-Jerry’s run.
7. He lets you have the last bite of a shared dessert.
8. He runs (literally) to the pharmacy 10 minutes before closing to get you meds for the UTI that has suddenly come on.
9. He can lift you up with one hand.
10. He has a trashcan in his bathroom.
11. He has a healthy attitude towards money; even if he doesn’t have a lot of it, he recognizes that sometimes it’s OK to use it for happiness (i.e., taking the time to travel, not eating hummus and wheat thins every night).
12. He knows his way around the kitchen and doesn’t mind cooking 90 percent of the meals.
13. He has the ability to spot a cool car when all you can see is the city bus and a minivan.
14. He lets you talk trash about people when you need to, but doesn’t think you’re a hypocrite because you still hang with them.
15. He doesn’t have more than four pairs of shoes.
16. He doesn’t ever order a drink with fruit juice in it.
17. His drink of choice is bourbon. Always bourbon.
18. He can fix stuff around the house.
19. He ends a relationship that’s no longer working instead of cheating.
20. When the going gets tough—like, really tough—he remains cool, calm, and collected, but not devoid of genuine emotion.

This article is sponsored by the TBS show “My Boys”; however, the content is independently produced by The Frisky and the opinions and views expressed by the writers are their own.

Original by Amelia McDonell-Parry @xoamelia