What does it mean to you to be a man?

Friend 1: "To be a man to me, means taking responsibility for my words and actions. It means keeping my word."

Friend 2: "A man is someone that is accountable for his actions, someone that protects the people that he loves. Someone that makes those around him better."

Friend 3: "In our day, where being a man means being able to get away with a lot and having it be acceptable, such as not being chivalrous or being the sole provider, being a man today allows me to exceed expectations as to what was once expected out of a man. Asking a girl to dinner and paying for it actually goes a long way when a lot of girls are accustomed to guys just asking them out to get a drink and weasel their way back into their apartments. We have more ways to impress and exceed our overall negative stereotype of men our age. It gives me room to be a dominant factor in a relationship, which is otherwise not as expected as much during our age and time."

Friend 4: "What makes a man? A man is a strong willed, confident, honest, and a natural leader. Even though he possesses the aforementioned he is still compassionate and not afraid to show his true feelings for fear it would compromise his strength. A true man is a provider for his family and will seek assistance when absolutely necessary to get back on track should he lose his footing. A man will never give up in his quest to find the right partner."

Friend 5: "Well I mean, I still haven't found the right balance but pretty much taking care of my bitch in all means however, that gets me walked on by girls who expect that as well as monetary caring for as well so when I'm a dick to girls and single I FEEL more like a man because of the control but when I'm in a situation like the current I kind of feel like a bitch even though I'm taking care of the girl 1000%."

Friend 6: "For me, being a man means recognizing your strengths, accepting your weaknesses, and still moving forward with what you feel you need to do
and taking responsibility for your failings, and knowing that sometimes you may need help and being secure enough to ask for it."

Friend 7: "For me it means taking responsibility for things other than yourself. Boys can tend to only think of themselves, while Men realize their place in this world; that they have power to yield for the greater good of others or even themselves; by being good fathers, lovers, even citizens.It's something we need to do without expecting retribution, yet respect should be our reward."

Friend 8: "To protect, to love, to be caring, to push thing forward. It is not a sex thing, it is a doing thing, it is about being a hunter. Anyone in the new world can be a "man". It is to be a strong beast or animal to provide even with your own life. We can not create life so we are willing to give it and try to defend it and that is what being a man is. I am very manish in so ways. I do look at it like that. I want to defend the people I love from the world."