To ask if it's a requirement of Men over 40 to Rant?

[chronictonic]

Lighthearted!

But Is it a legal requirement or just part of the male aging process, to become professional Ranters?

My Dad did/does it and now my DH has notched his ranting up a level as he's entered his 50's.

I know there's a LOT to rant about these days.. but older Men really do take it to another level don't they?!

There's a lot of focus on changes for women as they get older but not so much for men, who are far less likely to talk about it. Yet they still have lowering testosterone levels, are leaving their more youthful selves behind, eras in work/parenting etc coming to a close and losing their identity in some ways. So it's probably no wonder that some of this comes out as being more angry and wound up by stuff in general. Just like for women, the men who seem to cope better are those who are more accepting of being the age they are rather than trying to cling onto their youth.

Not as much as Mumsnetters.

I mean, have you seen the egg thread?

People change as they age, whilst it is commonly understood that women go through the menopause (sometimes with tragic consequences as recent events show) men also do.

Generally people become more confident as they get older and therefore feel freer to discuss their views. I don't think it's just a male thing, my experience as a regular bus-user is that the loudest and most... committed... debaters tend to be elderly women.

I think men get to a stage where they realise - belatedly - that they are "past it" and that they are not going to achieve all those goals and dreams and ambitions they once had. The world constricting like that can take a bit of getting used to and that feeling of impotence (never a good word for a bloke to hear) is hard to adjust to. Some do and some rage against it in any way that they can.

I think avoiding the news / media / pub will give them less to rant about and more time to come to terms with the reality that they are getting on a bit and have entered a new phase in their lives and "that's okay". They don't have to prove anything to anyone and they can just be content.

I didn’t realise all the threads on this site were started by middle aged men? I’m certainly not one and I love a good rant