I would not pass myself off as the most masculine of men. But then again, I don't know if there is such a thing. We all have masculine and feminine traits within us, it's just that normally one set is superior to the other. I grew up in a southern Christian region of the nation, in a religion where women are responsible for evil and a society where men are the superior sex (whether directly implied or mentally conditioned). All of us who grew up in my era, know that the worst thing a boy could be called was a girl. The sexism was/is real, and so was the sex supremacy. As a male, I assumed there would never be anything I would need from a female. Now that's not to say that I didn't like women, but I had always been taught to pray to a male God for anything of consequence. Being a man, we are taught, is the most important thing, and that anything which deviates from that is disgraceful. That's why feminine and gay men and transwomen are looked at with constant disdain while masculine and lesbian women and transmen are entirely ignored by criticism. The sexism and bigotry manifests itself in many ways, and those who promote it don't even realize they're doing so.
I think one of the reasons religions like Christianity are so focused on the walls of churches is because, when you step outside, the world yells at you that feminine Divinity is everywhere. All sorts of manifestations would align themselves along with the masculine. And so when I became a Hellenist, the entire world changed. It wasn't an anti-masculine reality, just one that realized the importance of femininity, and also how valuable those Goddesses and Heroines are to my life. When I need strength and protection, it's Athena I pray to. I may be a man, I may be a martial arts champion, and I may be tall and strong, but She's my Akropolis, and to feel Her power and presence, makes me realize, among other things, that strength and glory are not dependent on masculinity. Sometimes they come from the feminine. Not only does it open your mind to the universe and thus makes the mind more enlightened, but it grows your love for the Goddesses.
Among the many lessons I have learned from Goddesses, such as Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, and Demeter, one that continues to stand out is that the feminine is an equal part to the essential stability, order, power and goodness of life and the universe. Their Divinity is also nothing to be scared of or feel threatened by just because they exist. The "war of the sexes" is really a modern social construct of sexist societies. It makes a man, no less of a man, to need a Goddess in his life, nor does it make a woman, less of a woman, to need a God.
In the Goodness of the Gods,
I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,
Chris Aldridge.