Should Gender Stereotypes be challenged?

[drfuzzy]

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What do you think it means to "be" a man?  It sound like you have an idea that is most likely going to fall in to the stereotypes you outlined in the OP. Throughout generations this definition of what it was to "be" a man has changed.  In the Victorian era, this was what was expected to "be" a man:

Victorian social etiquette for gentlemen in the presence of ladies:

• Stand when a lady enters a room.
  
• Stand when a lady stands.
  
• Offer a lady your seat if no other seat is available.
  
• Assist the lady with her chair when she sits or stands. Especially at a table.
  
• Retrieve dropped items for a lady.
  
• Open doors for a lady.
  
• Help a lady with her coat, cloak or shawl.
  
• Offer to bring a lady refreshments if they are available.
  
• Offer your arm to escort a lady (with whom you are acquainted) into or out of a building or a room at all social events, and whenever walking on uneven ground.
  

Basic social rules of things a gentleman should never do:

• Never refer to another person by their first name in public.
  
• Never curse or discuss “impolite” subjects when ladies are present.
  
• Never leave a lady you know unattended, except with permission.
  
• Never use tobacco in any form when ladies are present.
  
• Never greet a lady in public unless she acknowledges you first.
  

Is this what it means to "be" a man, or are these reserved for "gentlemen".  Being a pompous neanderthal in my book is not "being" a man.  

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Yes, I did mean the stereotypical characteristics. Why is there a negative aura attached to those qualities in a man?  

Because they are linked to violence, domination and abuse of others, abuse of power, and the idea that "might makes right".  Now, in a perfect world, strength and aggression would only be celebrated in the context of sport - but that isn't the case.