Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry
I think this is sort of an interesting thread.
And I also believe gender identity is 100% real.
But I donno if much of it could be based of societal influences... the fact that women are expected to be 'submissive' (wear the 'skirt' in a relationship, been oppressed for years, not be professional, domestication, can't sleep around without being looked down upon, play with dolls etc, etc) while men are expected to be domineering (be professional, wear the 'trou' , play sports, etc) ... but those things, masculinity/feminism, its all made up if you think of in.
In fact while a the gym, I was thinking on this the other day (just cos I tend to be quite the contemplative individual  ) in the sense that I saw a couple o kiddos towards the care centre; A little girl and a young lad probably no older than 6 or 7 each. The lass was in teeny shorts, doll in hand, long hair, floral printed shirt... the lad was in a baggy t-shirt, longer shorts and video game portable thing in hand. And I was just thinking how these kids are already moulded, from birth most likely, to be a 'girl' or a 'boy' and act that way. There was never a choice to drift towards one's actual interests, but they were conditioned to act one way or the other.
Erm and I think that could cause gender distress. Whose to say that you are a gender satisfied bloke who just enjoys doing 'girlish' things, moreso? And in that sense you feel alienated by your own gender cos societally, it aint acceptable for you to enjoy those things?
Yeeargh, just a potential theory to think about. Sometimes I think the societal expectations are irksome. Like... why am I *** if I don't wanna sleep with every girl I see? Why is it *** to want to wait with my girlfriend? Those sorts of things... I'd rather it be considered respectable, as it is for girls! |
The time you've been gone could have been spent on those grammar lessions you know.
Masculinity and Feminity aren't made up things, it's just that some masculine and feminine traits are truly genetic and some are cultural.
For example. Being more aggressive is biologically a more masculine trait, mothers being more nurturing to their children than their fathers is a naturally feminine trait. And having more body hair is also a more masculine trait even if girls can grow it too.
Watching sports, fixing cars, making crude jokes. Those are only culturally masculine traits, and getting your nails done, wearing dresses and having long hair are only culturally feminine traits.
I think people often misuse the words when describing men as feminine and women as masculine, often they aren't really. And so many people now blur the lines between what are considered masculine and feminine traits. We are in a very androgynous age now, all you gotta do is look at most rock music movements and their resulting subcultures and fashion sense.
Today, at least in more progressive parts of the world, men definining themselves as "masculine" and women defining themselves "feminine" are cultural choices rather than enforced dogma as they were for many ages. Obviously that's how it should be. People have the choice of what gender they want to define themselves as, they can be one or the other, or both, or neither.
I don't know where you live but I think at least in America children aren't being molded in the same way anymore. I still see girls playing with dolls, which may not necessarily be something they're interested in just because they are expected to be, I think girls are just biologically more nurturing that way. But I also see them playing video games and doing all the outdoor physical activities that boys do, why not? Before puberty the tesosterone levels aren't that vastly different between boys and girls.
Fashion has changed a bit, jeans and shorts have become more trendy for women. A lot of young teens now especially in emerging hardcore/emo/punk scenes sport quite the androgynous appearance. Sometimes I have difficulty telling them apart myself.
Hybrid Mode