I think everybody practices passive aggressiveness sometimes. It’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it’s needed as it’s the only way to communicate displeasure to your superiors.
In general macho men don’t like it, as it’s annoying. They are thinking “Why can’t everybody just lighten up?”. It definitely takes a man to just ignore all the constant bitching.
Even very masculine men will display passive aggression in some cases. For instances, such men often decide to end a friendship with another man who has angered them in some ways. Typically, the macho guy will just refuse to answer the many phone calls and emails the puzzled offender is sending in. After a couple of weeks of this, the macho guy sends a single aggressive sounding email with maybe two sentences describe the offending act that ended the friendship. At that point, the offender if he has any social skills, just figures out that the friendship is done and buried.
You really need to avoid direct confrontation a lot in Man World because Man World is such a dangerous place. Male violence is so destructive, emotionally and much worse physically, and homicide or attempted homicide is often around the corner. Not to mention stalking, threats, property damage, attempts to destroy one’s reputation, abuse and just a general Hellish scenario. Wars between men are so scary and potentially dangerous that it is like playing with matches. After a certain age, most adult men simply avoid what looks like any serious confrontation with another male due to the risks involved.
On the other hand, the truly passive aggressive male, especially in extreme Axis 2 form of the Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder, is an extraordinarily annoying, disturbing, infuriating and ultimately pitifully unmasculine man. I have known men who have this disorder and it is nasty as Hell. They are very difficult people to deal with to say the least.
