Brooke and Jeffrey

Things All Men Love

7 min
Apr 10, 20269 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Brooke and Jeffrey discuss a viral Twitter thread by author Aubrey Hirsch asking what universal things men love, analyzing humorous responses ranging from watching construction sites to using power tools. The hosts debate whether these stereotypical male interests are genuinely universal or simply cultural generalizations.

Insights
  • Content creators actively crowdsource audience insights on social media to inform their work, demonstrating the value of direct community engagement in character development
  • Stereotypical gender-based behaviors often contain kernels of truth but are frequently exaggerated or not universally applicable across demographics
  • Shared cultural references and repeated movie quotes serve as significant male bonding mechanisms and social currency
  • The appeal of certain activities (construction watching, hole digging, rock throwing) may stem from fundamental human satisfaction with observable cause-and-effect rather than gender-specific traits
Trends
Authors and creators leveraging social media for authentic audience research rather than relying solely on stereotypesViral gender-based humor content generating engagement through relatable but exaggerated observationsGrowing awareness and discussion of gender stereotypes being challenged and reframed in mainstream mediaNostalgia-driven bonding through shared pop culture references becoming a recognized social phenomenon
People
Aubrey Hirsch
Female author who posed the question on Twitter about what men universally like for comic character research
Brooke
Co-host of the podcast discussing male preferences and stereotypes
Jeffrey
Co-host of the podcast providing male perspective on the discussed preferences
Quotes
"She could fall down the stereotype well and be fine, I would say. But she didn't want to go down that route"
JeffreyEarly in episode
"If you sit down, your team will lose. Those are the rules that cause an effect. You guys are so powerful over how your team performs."
BrookeMid-episode
"A lot of us like to dig holes into our relationships too. So deep that we can't climb out."
JeffreyMid-episode
"It's like saying women love cleaning supplies. Give her a new dust bluster and she'll be wandering all over that house looking for dust bunnies."
BrookeLate episode
"You have to say that's not going anywhere because it's the cherry on top of the Sunday."
BrookeLate episode
Full Transcript
What do men like? It's a broken Jeffrey in the morning. This song? Yeah. Definitely this song. But I'm not just asking for personal reasons. I bring it up. I thought you were trying to figure out what you like. No, it's because a popular female author named Aubrey Hirsch recently posed that question to social media. Because she was trying to write a male character for a new comic she was working on. But she realized she didn't have any close male counterparts in her life to know what a typical dude is actually into. Okay, that makes sense. She want to fall down the stereotypical well, right? And we are a complex, nuanced breed. She could fall down the stereotype well and be fine, I would say. But she didn't want to go down that route and opened up her Twitter to pose the question, what's a universal thing that most men like? Okay, so it doesn't matter where you're from, your age, any event. I'm curious to go over the answers from it and see if they're actually right. Okay. But here are some of the best ones. This one says, men love watching construction sites. Apparently this one is so common, there's even a name for it in Italy. Umarelle, where men agree it's just satisfying and interesting to watch the process of stuff being built. You don't get whistled at when you're there. No, no, I'm ugly. No, we whistle at them. I'll tell your cat, Colleen, other men on the construction. Good job, boys. The problem is they always put up those fences around the construction site so you can't see in. They should put male peep holes around so men can come peek in on catch the action. So men and toddlers have very similar interests. Bob the builder is actually for everyone. Just let us watch. What's the big deal? Another one says, men love standing up while watching sports or news on TV. It helps you focus and lets everyone in the room know that something very important is happening on television right now. That's when you're purely locked in. That's when you're standing up. So if I'm ever having to sit down conversation with a man, then I'll know he's not fully engaged. And the other thing is if you sit down, your team will lose. Those are the rules that cause an effect. You guys are so powerful over how your team performs. Let's keep going. Another person said, men love the masculine urge to dig. Ditches, holes, tunnels, doesn't matter, but the bigger the hole, the better. I'm trying to be like the construction site boys. I will say at the beach it's all dads that are like, let me bury you. That's just male instinct. A lot of us like to dig holes into our relationships too. So deep that we can't climb out. That's hopeful. If you're just joining us, we're talking about the top responses on social media. So the question, what are some things that most men love? So the responses kept coming in. One said men enjoy throwing big rocks off of cliffs in the lakes to get a giant splash with the deep sounding sploosh noise. This is just like the ice thing I was saying. I'm sorry, do women not like that? Yeah, women love this too. I feel like that's just based on human satisfaction. Also spitting off a stuff. Also really enjoy it. The farther up the better the spit. And peeing off of stuff too? I wish I could. That's why you lose us. We're jealous though. I'll tell you that. That's true. I have a high jealousy of the way you guys can urinate. Interesting. Almost had so much in common. Another says men love walking under low hanging signs and trying to jump up and tap the bottom as he passes. Pretend like you play for Notre Dame. And the older you get, the more likely you are to get injured doing this. Immediately. Definitely. But if you don't hit it legally, you're not a man anymore. Yeah. Those are the rules of masculinity. Another says men love being asked to open a jar. Yeah. Yeah, but it's so emasculating when you can't do it. Yeah, that is tough. It's a dangerous ass. But even the fact that you thought I could open it, that feels good. That feels good. Just give me a knife and I whack that. Yeah. Just all my years of doing nothing physical productive is finally going to pay off now. Yeah. This one says men love power tools. Give a guy a new drill and he'll wander around looking for stuff that needs holes. I just threw the guy once and he'd always just be in the garage and I was like, what are you doing? He said it's too much. I gotta say power tools are pretty awesome. I mean, yeah, I think this is borderline offensive. Really? It's like saying women love cleaning supplies. Give her a new dust bluster and she'll be wandering all over that house looking for dust bunnies. I will say I had more power tools going into my relationship than my husband did. Yeah. I don't think it's a universal man thing, but it does feel good to have a strong tool in here. Yeah, it does. I will admit. Someone said men love memorizing their favorite lines from movies, then reciting them with all their friends who've also memorized them. Yeah. Extra points for funny accents, a true source of unparalleled male bonding. Yes. Vidgles, huh? If you get it, you get it. Yeah. Check you later. My buddies and I always quoted family guy together. Oh no. I'm stopping. Oh my gosh. Every day was pita. Yeah. Brian, there's a message in my alphabet cereal. It says, ooh. That's the one you took that. It's funny for like two lines, but you all do it for like 10 minutes. Yeah. I know it is sick. Yeah. It's pretty dope. Super cool. Thanks for understanding, Brooke. Another says men love using tie down straps to secure a load in the back of a truck, then twanging the straps and going, that's not going anywhere. Oh yeah, especially if you can ratchet it, the real torque in it. The smaller version, this is my dad with the little net in your trunk. You know how they have little guns? He puts everything in the net so it doesn't move around. Yeah. It could be like one bottle of wine and he's like, boot it in the net. Is that what happens when you don't have a truck? Yeah. And when you have a hybrid SUV. But you have to say that. You have to say that's not going anywhere because it's the cherry on top of the Sunday. Meanwhile, someone's driving behind you scared out of their life. Yes. That is all falling on the freeway at any moment. It still felt good. And finally, someone says men love while shopping at the grocery store to lean forward with their forearms on the handle of the cart as they walk up and down the aisles. I don't do that that much. Like crossed, I can see it. Oh, I can see it though. You lean up because we have to conserve our energy to do nothing later. Or to stand up and watch TV. Exactly. Harness it. I think overall they pretty much nailed the list. What do you think, Jose? I mean, yeah, I like all these things, but I have ADD, so I like everything. Those are the things that men love according to the internet. And all men love laughing at our phone tabs. That's coming up right after this.