lambsone wrote:
. . . They talked about every man having a protector tendency. Protecting those that mean something to them but I also gather that perhaps anyone who is vulnerable might also stir that tendency.
So I'm curious to find out if you guys sense that characteristic in yourselves no matter your choice of BDSM role or life situation. Do you think it's really an intrinsic quality that all men have?
Do you have any life stories to share about how you saw this protective tendency emerge in you in an encounter with another person?
First a point: It's like some guys are trying to prove your point without agreeing with you. The question posed was specific to men. It bore no malice to women. (Hint - no one needs protecting from the question) Simply asking whether men may be inherently protective doesn't negate the fact that many women are equally protective. Women can be very protective, regardless of whether it's for their children or their loved ones or what have you. But the question was posed about men, so for the sake of all, anyone defending any perceived hurt feelings before they are felt, sit down.
In answer to the question: Not every man has that quality but those that do display it in varying degrees. I concur with @balloonkotinsp above - I tend to believe it is an inherent trait that may be brought out either by nature or nurturing. It varies on the individual but I've seen, based upon only my experiences, many men make horrible choices in life based upon defending or protecting someone who appears vulnerable. Think the White Knight syndrome - always running off to save the day or the damsel in distress - even when the damsels probably don't need a Knight or saving - or perhaps the knight isn't qualified to doing the saving.
I think we traditionally think of protection as being physically based. Who knows why exactly? Was it our evolution 50,000 years ago? And often (up until the recent generations) young men such as me and those I grew up with were taught to protect. But we are living in a different age and time.
Experiences: I have tons as I'm sure others do as well. Give me a wounded bird and I'm all about rescuing it. But as I've matured I've learned not every bird is really wounded nor can I or should I save every one. I do recall at a very young age (fifteen or so) working outside the polls during an election. A woman pulled up in a car - much older than I and probably in her early 30s - in tears sobbing with a child in the back seat. I don't recall her exact story, but it was a wild one that involved Satanic worship and I was in way out of my expertise or maturity - but I still wanted to help, to save her and her child. To protect them! Luckily I told her to wait and I'd get someone (I went to grab an adult because thankfully I realized this was a bit too much) and she drove away. That plagued me for weeks - that I couldn't help her. Now I look back and realize that was one of many events in my life that I shouldn't have felt responsible for fixing.