Totally but there is a big difference between a macho manly man and man insecure in his masculinity.

A guy can be macho and manly and not be a prick, he just doesn't go sharing his every emotion crying at the drop of a hat

BUT

A man insecure in his masculinity will be the type to not care, to be abusive, to be threatened by a confident woman.

IMHO a guy doesn't have to be all emotional and sappy to be a good guy. I see what you are driving at and if I understand you correctly I agree, I don't think men need to act like cavemen but they don't need to act like women either.

Sounds stupid to me.
Not wanting to sound ignorant or insultive.. but..is it used a lot?..I mean in the States, it is not a common phrase here.

Be a man maybe.. but not Man Up.. not heard that one.

Step up to the plate maybe..is that the same thing?

The woman version could be "put on your big girl pants". I often wished my stbxh
whores' hubby would "grow some balls' and tell his fat wife to keep the hell away from by husband! (Sorry to offend anyone here)

I would say step up to the plate would be the same as man up.

To me, these phrases are not in response to how masculine a man is. To me it is about taking care of your responsibilities. Taking care of your home, children(if any), work, bills, etc. If a man is a stay at home dad, and does nothing all day but what his heart desires. Then he needs to man up, care for the kids needs, do the laundry, clean the house, etc. Whatever the responsibilities are. If he is to work, then whatever those responsibilities are. Again the if it were vs. then I guess a woman should woman up.

Man Up is a funny phrase to me. Its a common basketball term around here, meaning identify the person you were assigned to guard and quickly begin defending them. I had a 7th grade coach who used to always yell that...but none of my other coaches ever said it.

I guess what really gets me, Gia, is the unspoken expectation of what men/women should be, do, think.... I have long outgrown the "should" life. Now I believe that the best approach is to let people be who they want to be or who they are by nature: if a woman is assertive and driven, let her run for a president, if a man is sensitive, let him express his emotions. Why cast stones? Stereotypes do nothing but limit individuality.

I heard that one by LilyL . . . Put your big girl pants on and quit your whining. If I get to the point where I have to use "man up" or "be a man" then I must really be talking to an arrested adolescent, that's all I can say about that one because -- All gender specifics aside, there are certain things we have to do as adults and just DO and not whine about it and it has nothing to do with income levels it's just ... whether people whine about it or not.

This is one they use for men...

Man Boobs
Man Bag
Man Barret