Definition: A person who performs exaggerated displays of “toughness”—like refusing water during heatwaves, bragging about sleep deprivation, or avoiding diaper changes—to signal rugged masculinity. Ironically, these acts highlight fragility, not strength, often leading to hospitalization or proving them unreliable caregivers.
The harder they flex, the weaker they appear: true resilience requires self-care and responsibility, not performative fragility. As the Lannisters wisely noted, needing to proclaim your power loudly just outs you as a shaky monarch in sweatpants. (52 words)
Example:
Despite the scorching heat advisory, Mark refused sunscreen and water while mowing, boasting about “handling it like a man,” only to collapse from heatstroke later.
He bragged about changing diapers “only when absolutely necessary” to seem tough, proving himself an unreliable and neglectful father when the baby developed a painful rash.