When Time Magazine columnist Joel Stein found out that his wife would be having a baby boy, he lost his nerve. Why? Because he didn’t believe that he was manly enough to raise a son. And so, in an effort to become a more adequate father, he set out on quest to discover his inner manliness.

Once all was said and done, Stein published his experiment and findings in a novel titled “Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity”. He then met with Fox News to discuss the experience.

In order to achieve his goal of becoming a more “manly” man, Stein attended boot camp, joined the boy scouts, and got in the ring with UFC fighter Randy Couture. After experiencing all of these things for the first time, he came to the conclusion that being a man isn’t about being present, honest and loving towards your friends and family. Nope, “being a man is about getting kneed in the face by Randy Couture.”

Yep. And all the men present laughed, and clapped, and agreed with this statement.

Awesome. So now you’re telling me that being a grossly tanned, overly muscular man who needs two hours every day to get ready isn’t enough. No, now you actually have to get beat up by one of those guys in order to qualify as a real “man”. I’m super glad that this is what (some) men actually believe.

To top it off, when asked how his experiences would change his parenting style, Stein replied that that he was going to introduce his son to more things, like boy scouts and camping, and that other parents should do so as well.

Uh-huh. You heard it here folks—boy scouts and camping. Absolutely groundbreaking material.

Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit too harsh on the guy, but that’s only because I found every single word that came out of his mouth entirely ridiculous. I mean, he was man enough to have a son in the first place, right? So how is attending boot camp supposed to help him become a better dad? Maybe I should read the book.

All I’m trying to say is that, as a woman, I think certain guys take the whole macho thing way too far. Which is totally fine, because no one’s forcing me to date those guys or anything. But decent, ordinary men shouldn’t watch all of this macho reality T.V. crap and start freaking out because they’re suddenly not manly enough. That’s just ridiculous.

If you’re happily married (or in a stable relationship) and everything in your life is going just fine, why freak out and try to change yourself? And how about asking a few women what they think being a man is really about—I’m willing to bet that you won’t find a majority taking the “getting kneed in the face by Randy Couture” stance.

Or maybe I’m just unable to understand this whole experiment because I’m not a man. I don’t know, help me out here.

What do you think being a man is truly about, Albany? Give us your 2 cents!