This has occurred to me a couple of times before...Girls, women, can be as sexualized as they want, as weak as they want, as strong as they want, as tough as they want, as soft as they want, as boyish as they want. The post(?)-feminism atmosphere in the U.S. today means women do get lots of chances to express themselves as people first, females second, as long as they are prepared to accept all ramifications of equality: i.e., the draft.
Now what about guys? Aren't guys, men, still restricted in quite a few ways from being who they want to be? Don't they actually have it tougher in some respects?
Yep. That's what I say, too. Next great turn of the "Movement" could encourage ALL to express their greatest, positive talents. We all have "the feminine" and "the masculine" in us - but it has been skewed out of alignment by culture.
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from and why you may feel that way; but I do not feel that women can be exactly however they want all of the time. Men and Women alike have to face the protocol of society and its hard for everyone. Sometimes women feel the need to act a certain way to prove themselves just like men do. As far as being sexualized, some women don't mind because it grabs attention, but some women are against it because they know that they are more than that. You said that women can be as weak, strong, or "boyish" as they want; I think you must remember that these personalities all come from different life experiences (family upbringing, belief in gender roles, or opposition to following gender roles, or circumstances in life that may have molded them as a person). Women still have a looong way to go. It is not completely equal like some people may think. And as far as having a chance to express yourself, I think that has absolutely nothing to do with gender, it has to do with CONFIDENCE. Be yourself no matter what society says and then you'll be happiest. We have to learn to break the mold, not conform to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if either gender has the hardest form of lifestyle, but if you are a heterosexual male; the mold in many societies seem to be similar, where the male needs to be strong, confident, and able to provide. The hard part is for it to be admitted on the grounds of being encourage not to at a young age. Encourage to not cry, be chivalrous toward females, and do hard manual labor. Its to a point males are not even aware they have been trained in this fashion.
ReplyDeleteBreaking the mold doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happy nor is just conforming. The very idea of always rebelling against society seems a bit suicidal. We need to work in order to provide for ourselves in this society and that mean some conforming to society's view of standards.
To be happy is something I found overrated. What is it to be happy and if I'm that way all the time I would look like some brainwashed baboon. Now I may just be defining happiness different then other, but looking for a impossible constant always will cause one to loose sight of what else there is around them. then again... it is evolution.