Why Iroh is the Pinnacle of Masculinity

Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender is quite possible the best example of true, authentic masculinity in fiction. By living out essential virtues of integrity, humility, patience, and more, he shows us what it means to be a man.

#avatarthelastairbender

Credit to The Art of Manliness for the line about masculinity/femininity playing the same notes in different ways.

Music credits:
Where We Belong - Helmut Schenker
A World of Dreams - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
She Is Everywhere - Clarence Reed
Indulgence - Alec Slayne
Inspiration - Megan Wofford
Adventure Awaits - Dream Cave
Find My Boy and Bring Him Home - Bonnie Grace

All licensed through Epidemic Sound

0:00 Intro
1:34 Integrity
3:59 Loyalty
6:20 Patience
8:40 Authenticity
11:30 Humility
14:09 Humor
16:41 Strength
19:13 Wisdom
21:23 Love

[master_samwise]

Wow, uh... was not expecting such a wonderful response to this video. Thank you so much for tuning in. Avatar: the Last Airbender is one of my favorite shows of all time, and I'm overjoyed that so many other people still love discussing this amazing show and its incredible characters as much as I do. I will definitely be making more videos about ATLA in the not-too-distant future, in addition to my usual Star Wars content. Plus, I'm planning on talking about Arcane, and a few more things that have caught my fancy lately.

[brothers_of_nod]

If everyone had their own Uncle Iroh, the world would be a much better place.

[irishleopard]

"Masculinity and femininity are not opposites. Two insurments playing the same cord will have different sounds" that is so profound

[benitoharrycollmann]

I have always thought that Iroh's love of tea is symbolic of his balance with all the elements. Tea leaves grow from the earth, are then placed in water that needs to be boiled by fire, and fire cannot be created without fanning it with air. Perfect harmony

[Lin_Nascimento]

Iroh isn't just peak masculinity, he's a peak human being

[goblynkyng]

The proudest moment of my life was when my child compared me favorably to Iroh. There is no better example of being a role model than Iroh and when my own child said I'm like literally cried.

[crossedroses]

I looked up to Iroh (even as a girl) because what he said never felt forced or preachy. Everything held weight and meaning even if it didn’t make sense to those around him. He was always aggressively himself in the best way and only ever wanted himself and others to be happy. 10/10 best character ever written.

[TitusCastiglione]

By the time the show starts, Iroh had already achieved peak masculinity, and he basically just wanted to chill with his favorite nephew while our heroes save the world. What a legend.

[gubzs]

I've had two people independently, an ex girlfriend and a coworker, tell me I remind them of this character and that's the single greatest compliment I've ever received.

[BoredTAK]

I love how when Toph attacks Iroh, Iroh doesn't fight back and just talks with her. Then when Toph gets attacked by Zuko and her feet get burned she forgives him just like how Iroh forgave her. Just a little detail that I thought I should share.

[yuriajones]

I'm just about 60 seconds in when I hear this, "Masculinity is not the opposite of femininity, but rather the opposite of boyish immaturity". And I KNOW this video is exactly what it needs to be. Thank you.

[atraxuswraithe]

My Grandpa was, for me, a real life version of Iroh. Grandpa was a 6’4” retired police officer who resigned out of disgust for the corruption in the police in the 1960s and 1970s. He loved his family, jazz and blues music, crosswords, cartoons, sci fi, and fishing. He meant the world to me, and after my parents separated when I was 20, Grandpa taught me more about being a man than my narcissistic sociopath of a father ever did. Grandpa passed away in November of 2018, but I try to live in a way that would make him proud every day. Iroh and Grandpa are extremely similar in temperament, kindness, patience and good humour, and every time I watch A:TLA or a video about Iroh like this one, I think on the men in my life who taught me everything: Iroh and my Grandpa.

[Allchack]

"Be the person uncle Iroh would want you to become" was something a friend told me once jokingly. Its been my Go-To motivational sentence since 2019 and I improved mentally, physically and as a person overall since im thinking that way.

Uncle Iroh and Whitebeard are the true representations of what real masculinity should be.

Best written characters of our time

[austino]

Iroh is not comic relief for the audience, he is comic relief for the characters. And that is something to admire.

[omniscience]

Powerful but humble.
Calm but with a raging fire inside him
A steel body capable of dealing deadly blows, but also of giving the warmest hug
A true warrior with the wisdom of a sage.
An experienced soul with the playfulness and curiosity of a child

He truly is the pinnacle of masculinity.

[devonmarr]

Can we appreciate that the show has been off air for 15 years but a 20 minute video can cone out about a side character analysis and it gets almost 2 mil views?

[jacobblomquist]

I always say that humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.

[abusedumpster]

Something that gets overlooked a lot is that Iroh *failed* in order to get to where he is. He had to make mistakes and learn from those failures to grow. He isn’t just naturally wise; he wasn’t always the perfect description of positive masculinity. He had to learn throughout his whole life. We can learn from him, we can take the lessons he taught us and try to live like him, but we won’t get there until we fail, time and time again, and grow like him.

[vulcanhumor]

"Masculinity is not the opposite of femininity, but rather it's the opposite of boyish immaturity." That is AMAZING. I am definitely using that line in the future. It annoys me so much how some people act like men and women are different species. We're not. We have far more commonalities than differences, and even in our differences we are not "opposites" of one another...we simply exhibit the same characteristics in slightly different ways.

[RGUGNL]

I am a man and I love flowers, just because I'm a man, why can I not admire the beautiful things nature provides us?

I remember telling a girl once I'd be over the moon if somebody bought me flowers, I said "I've never understood why only women and girls receive flowers, as though men can't appreciate the beauty in them."