I don't recommend my approach for everyone but I installed a 240v receptacle on the inside front wall of my garage and use a male to male jumper cord to connect the generator to the receptacle so that one cord is all that's needed. I have a lockout that I put on the main breaker that has to be removed to flip the breaker on. I just added the lockout this year in case someone gets nosey while my garage door is open. But I have had utility workers on my property when the problem was in my high voltage underground feed and they showed zero concern regarding my generator.
Using a cord with male plugs on both ends is very dangerous, even though I have done it myself.
It is known as a “suicide cord” because when you plug one end into the running generator, the exposed prongs on the other end are live current and unprotected.
I always killed the service panel main breaker first, to avoid back feeding out to the pole.
Then plugged both male ends in first, then started the generator, then flipped the breaker in my garage sub panel to feed back to the house.
My home’s previous owner had installed a 240 volt welding outlet in the garage, which is how I plugged in the other male cord end.
I had a written checklist hanging on my main panel, to remind me of this safety procedure in an emergency.
I would alternate heavy loads by flipping individual breakers.
Big motors can use twice their rated amps for a few seconds, when starting up.
Electronic circuits like tv or computer can be damaged by a generator without a true sine wave output.
Even appliances like a modern refrigerator with a circuit board controller can be fried, you never know how they will handle it.
But they usually are ok, just be warned.
It is much safer to install a generator socket to plug in your generator to the house.
The generator socket is like a male prong receptacle, in a deep recessed housing.
So you can safely plug into it with the female end of your generator cord.