CAUTION: Snowflakes might get triggered. Find a safe space if you want to attempt reading or just don’t bother reading and find something else.
How much does the choice of a word affect one’s thinking? We say that the clothes make the man. Why can’t the words make the thought?
Man up! Pussy! Ballsy! Douche bag! Manliness! Bitch! Player! Whore!
We associate these words with a gender because the words actually are associated with a gender. That’s where they come from. But do we subconsciously associate and accept the beliefs that come with the choice of the word?
Does the gender of the word as well as the person lead one to subconsciously, and possibly consciously, perceive the other gender differently because of the word choice and how and when they are used as well as the associated value of the word that society has given to it.
Is a woman more powerful or does she feel more powerful if she is told that she’s got balls?
Is a man demasculinated or feel less of a person if called a pussy or told that has no balls?
When someone does something that others may fear, we saw they had balls of steel. I’ve never heard of a cunt of courage or vagina of valour.
In the above paragraphs, what does it mean if the woman does feel more powerful? Has she bought into the hype that men are at a different level, a higher level that needs to continue to try and reach. A glass ceiling but one so high that it will take a Herculean effort to surpass. Maybe I should write an Amazonia effort but I’m not sure that others would understand that novel use of a phrase.
Gender roles are nothing new. In dating profiles and how we approach relationships there are discussions about traditional gender roles and how they apply and want to be applied in today’s society. If a woman can’t cook, it is considered a negative trait. I’m happy if the personal I’m with can cut up vegetables or doesn’t mind cleaning the dishes after I’ve cooked. I very much dislike cleaning dishes for some reason.
There aren’t many options that I can think of for addressing this. People want equality but men and women ARE different, for the forseeable future at least. Not acknowledging that there are differences is part of the problem. There are places where there can be equality. I agree that the right to equal pay is important. But if I’m hiring and I have a limited budget and I want to save money, why wouldn’t I try and pay someone enough to show their worth but as little as possible. I’m not saying I would pay women and men differently based on gender but I would based on their skills to negotiate. People take their smoke breaks, so no problems with breastfeeding or formula breaks. Take a nap if you need it. It should be about equal persecution of both genders instead of discriminating against one.
Just get your work done. Oops. Soapbox rant.
That’s a good enough prompt to wrap things up.
Watch your words and how they affect how to think about them and subsequently how to you think about others. The longer the words stay out there without people knowing what they mean, the easier it will be to make them crude but at least gender neutral.
Power to you if you feel sexier in that slinky black dress or more confident in that power suit but they both have the same thing in common. They all come from within and your own thoughts. Think about that. Do you grok?
-SFA