why do men think courage comes from their balls?

[donsu]

courage comes from the mind.

[ret5hd]

1. cause thinking of losing them makes us shake in our boots.

[donsu]

13. LOL :)

nt

[leesa]

41. The perfect answer. Funny

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Why do some people think WAY too much about phrases that have been around

for decades?

[donsu]

16. maybe because it's MCP language

nt

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. I'm sorry, MCP?

[BiggJawn]

24. Matriarchal Clown Posse?

please don't hit me....

[donsu]

27. male chauvinist pig

nt

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

30. Yeah, I wouldn't disagree with that

I still think it's being way overthought. I don't think anyone really sits there, dwells on the deeper meaning of the phrase, and then determines that because they are a woman, they must not have any courage. I just don't see it being that great an issue.

[BiggJawn]

56. Oh, THAT "MCP"

Last time I heard that, Gloria Steinham was still Editor...

[mattclearing]

3. Balls are our most vulnerable point.

Risking them takes courage.

I think that's the reasoning...it doesn't come from the balls, but the balls are definitely a factor.

[sui generis]

4. well technically testosterone would be what they're talking about

but history has put the lie to that with plenty of courageous women.

[G_j]

12. which would probably make "stupidity" closer to

the correct term. :-)

[Hello_Kitty]

5. I've always hated the metaphor too

Assuming it is a metaphor (I'm not always sure what is and isn't - Correct me if I'm wrong English majors). Referring to someone as having the "balls" to do something gives bravery a strictly masculine characteristic. Why not say someone has the "ovaries" to do something? Women can be every bit as courageous as men.

[mattclearing]

7. I know people who say ovaries. n/t

[entanglement]

50. Dang! Speech Police!

:spank: :spank: :spank:

On a serious note, I've used 'balls' many times and not given it much thought, so I agree with you and will try to mend my ways. :(

[Worst Username Ever]

6. I wasn't aware that we thought that.

[Kikosexy2]

8. them jewels..

are precious--without them no baby-makers!

[izzybeans]

9. If you hear one say that, just tell them, "Well to be accurate, liquid

courage does come from your balls. If by courage you mean moving forward in the face of uncertainty and challenge, that comes from somewhere else. So either drink up or think about this further. Cheers!"

[cheezus]

19. balls make semen, not beer

how cool would that be, though?

[Hand]

22. HAR!

Gives new meaning to the term "self pleasuring"!

"Man, I could do with a cold one right now... um, anyone in the bathroom?"

:rofl:

[izzybeans]

34. Yep.

[Tsiyu]

10. Had a discussion with some college kids the other day

Did you know it only takes 12 pounds of pressure to rip them from the male bod? ( Male was telling a female how to defend herself against rape.)

I wouldn't rely on a set knowing that...

[Career Prole]

11. I'm just speculating, mind you but I believe the expression had its birth

way back in the days when it was believed that men towered and women cowered, therefore if one "had no balls" they had no courage.
Just thinking aloud...I don't ascribe to the theory. :)

[HereSince1628]

14. But men's brains are in their "little heads" aren't they??????????

actually I think it's due to the conflation of aggression and courage.

[donsu]

15. what prompted this question was reading, yet again, an article that

referred to courage/balls in facing something bushgang


courage/spine I can see - standing taller and firm in the face of aggression

or courage/heart - the empathy to stand against aggression

[cheezus]

18. The same reason love comes from the heart

Just as we all know full well that the heart is not responsible for love, we know full well balls aren't responsible for courage. It's just an expression. This is just gender-baiting.

[Swede]

20. You lily livered so and so.

You need a stiff upper lip.

[donsu]

28. LOL

nt

[Fovea]

21. Because of cremaster muscles.

And they are the first thing that clenches when things get tense.

[SmokingJacket]

57. "Cremaster" is the ugliest word in the English language.

By the way.

[MODemocrat]

23. It used to be "you don't have the guts"

When I was young, I used to hear people use that expression, but it has evidently been changed to "balls" in recent years. Jon Stewart had a real funny show on about that very expression just about two weeks ago; did any of you see that show? :+ :eyes: :blush:

[FlemingsGhost]

25. Courage comes from God.

Illusion comes from the mind.

[donsu]

please don't drag any god into this discussion

nt

[theHandpuppet]

26. Because deep down...

... there lies a universal, deep-rooted fear of losing said parts of the anatomy, since (in humans) the tender wee wonders are right out there in front where they could easily be lopped off at any moment. To willfully or aggressively expose such vulnerability takes... well, balls.

-- the armchair doctor is now on lunch break.

[Radical Activist]

29. Because most stupid "courageous" things men do

are done to impress women.

[donsu]

31. LOL

nt

[tjwash]

32. And they mostly start with the line "Hey y'all, watch this..." nt

[Hardrada]

49. And end up with somebody calling an ambulance

toute suite!

[OneBlueSky]

33. "I'm just so easily led when the little head does the thinking" . . .

John Hiatt . . .

[amazona]

35. it isn't meant to be literal

I remember the first time after a competition that a young man came up to me, slapped me on the back, and said, "You have brass balls, lady!" The link between gender and the having of metaphorical balls has been broken for some time. It is just a colorful way to say that the person, who can be male or female, showed some guts in a situation.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

36. Yes and if you challenge them you are a ballbuster

IMHO, if you leave your balls out of situations where they don't belong, they won't get injured.

[havocmom]

42. NSMA, you ever think of writing for fortune cookies? That's a beaut!

Very sound advice. May have to have a sign made...

[Bake]

43. I keep my balls safely protected where they belong ...

... thank you very much for your concern!

:-)

Bake

[Bouncy Ball]

37. Not all men feel that way.

[burn the bush]

38. because the balls shrink up and pull up tighter to the penis when they

are frightened. You ain't got no balls actually means your balls are scrunched up tight coz you are scared. Loose freely handing balls are then associated with calm and bravo.

[Les BOOGIE]

39. Huh? I thought it was temperature n/t

[burn the bush]

51. cold causes shrinkage too. You might notice anytime you get startled

your butt kinda clinches. Same thing with the balls. I imagine that the shrinkage associated with cold is to get them nearer the body for warmth. With fear, maybe it's to keep them close to the body so you don't trip over them when you are running. lol.

[mmonk]

40. It doesn't?

[Solly Mack]

44. I watched a surgery once (slightly graphic)

yes, on the testes..

anyway, one was removed due to cancer ... the skin was peeled back from the testicle, scrotum sac just layed open....revealing a small, kinda circular blob that rather resembled the brain.

a lot like this, in fact



I was simply amazed.

[Don1]

45. I think it is some kind of folklore.

Like, for example, some kind of primitive animalistic thing, where an alpha male is thought to rule. Saying that a man has big ones means he is the head honcho. The head honcho is the leader and therefore (by the folklore) has confidence. Of course, there is a beta male and other high-ranking males. They all have big ones so to speak...the dominant males (with bigguns in the folklore) walk around the social group freely strutting.

Now, you can actually see this folklore illustrated in the John Stewart show that has been alluded to a couple of times now. The President in the script's X-ray had some amazingly and abnormally large balls. In the episode where John Stewart created the international symbol for the reach-around, John implied that the Pres was well-endowed and said, "Well, after all, he IS the President."

[Disturbed]

48. It is another real stupid expression...

like calling someone a pussy, meaning they lack courage or agression. I once posted why is pussy an ok term to use but cunt is not, seeing that they are the same thing with different names.I was banned from the site for bring that to their attention. I feel that language is important. After all why communicate on the Net if it is not, eh?

[Liberal In Texas]

46. You're quoting who? n/t

[Hardrada]

47. Yes, the Cowardly Lion didn't want balls.

He was just going to ask the Wizard for Courage. RRRRRRowr!

[retread]

52. The the phrase--"He's got balls," doesn't mean "He's got courage."

*

[Ron Green]

53. I agree. The idea of "balls" has more to do with a reckless sort of

thought or action, while true courage, IMO, amounts to feeling and acknowledging fear and then consciously doing the right thing. The idea of the heart as the location of courage is apt: "le coeur" means "heart" in French, right? If reason resides in the brain, and "balls" or "guts" are the source of reckless action, then the proper meeting of the two would be in the middle, or at the heart.

[northzax]

54. same reason love comes from the heart

folk lore.

and of course, since women are cowards, and don't have balls, that must be the answer. :donning flame retardant suit in 5...4...3...2...1...:

[donsu]

55. good discussion - thanks everybody

nt