How masculine are you?

So has anyone out there ever described me as macho, or a man's man (by the way, is it just me or does that kind of sound gay)? The answer would be resoundingly NO! I'm not saying I'm a pansy, though at points in my life the term wuss could have been accurately applied. I am most certainly not the guy with the pick-up truck and gun rack who goes to monster truck rallies and boat shows. The reality is that as the years have passed I have become very comfortable doing some very non-traditional male roles, cooking would be a good example of this. So far I have made several dinners for my girlfriend, she has made me one, it was grilled cheese (what can I say, we both tend to buck tradition).

But I am starting to wonder if it's going too far. I mean this week the most masculine activity I have taken part in may have been dancing Argentine Tango! Not exactly what you'd be likely to see on Spike TV. But that wasn't what started me wondering about my masculinity. What got the question rolling was my interest in my girlfriends knitting. See she has been working on knitting some pillow covers for her new couch. They are really nice and I was intrigued at how one could turn a single strand of yarn (not thread, there is a difference) into something so useful.

Ok, it wasn't actually the fact that I was impressed by the knitting that got me wondering about my macho quotient. It wasn't even the fact that I asked how knitting works and suggested that if I was taught I could help speed along the process. It wasn't even the pink practice yarn that she gave me to use with the needles I bought. It was the fact that after trying it last night I picked it up again this morning and continued practicing while she got ready to go to work.

I can only begin to imagine the comments that will come from this post. But hey, knitting is like construction work, at the end of the day you have made something...though at the moment I have only managed to make a long piece of very pink knit yarn. And sure it doesn't have the power tools you need for wood working or welding, but really how function is a chair in comparison to a tea cozy? And didn't Sylvester Stallone knit a sweater in Demolition Man? And yes, I know I'm stretching. But hey, I enjoy it, the act of actually making something is very satisfying (the project on tap is a scarf, and no, it won't be pink).

And maybe knitting is more masculine than I first thought, after all knitting needles are on the list of items that are prohibited on airplanes...along with nail clippers, tweezers, nail files and manicure scissors...yeah, I'm really stretching.