Been noticing this alot lately, but here's a specific anecdote: I have a friend who's a little on the shorter side but otherwise has alot going for him and works hard to improve himself. A girl that we both know talks about him saying things like "He's always doing pushups, trying to be macho", "he has small man complex". Basically, trying to say he's douchey while at the same time slightly insulting him (this is around other people, not him). With me, I'm witty and she always tries to psychoanalyze what I'm saying in an attempt to find weakness (or at least that's what I think). So she's a real ball-buster, seems like she's always trying to emasculate guys and take them down a notch. Here's the kicker: She's married, I just met her husband, and he's very betaish (while I hate using the alpha/beta terms, I can't think of another one to describe him at the moment). The only thing he'd have on a guy like my friend is that he's taller (barely). It seems to me that in her mind a short guy trying to improve himself is something to be mocked, yet a guy who's clearly not as masculine as my friend is to be more respected because he's not trying to improve himself in the ways my friend is. You'd think a women who loves to call men out and try to prod their weaknesses would be married to Rambo, but her husband is the farthest thing from, yet she seems to be more respectful of him in public. I don't get it. What drives this?
Civilize the mind but make savage the body.