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Re: Gender expectations
By:Kal
Date: 3/20/14 10:24 am
In Response To: Gender expectations (Cody Miller)

I disagree. I believe the idea of this slide (and a related one about positive/negative traits in girls) is to show how boys who don't abide by the normal school-age gender ideals are ostracized, and how our society (through many avenues, including video game characters) molds boys to fit a set pattern. This has damaging effects not only on those who do not (or choose not to) fit the mold, but also has damaging effects on the future men who will have unreasonable expectations of their own privilege.

For example, why is "easily upset" (ie: "emotional") seen as a negative trait? Many great people are emotional. It's difficult to be a great artist, a crusader for social justice, or even a political leader without getting upset about injustices in the world.

Why is being a "snitch" seen as a negative? Shouldn't abiding by the rules and wisdom be seen as qualities to be balanced with loyalty to your friends?

Why is being "awkward" seen as a negative? Should people be ostracized and bullied because they don't fit in a preconceived notion of how people "should" act? We're talking about people who walk or talk a little funny in their teenage years. Being awkward pretty much describes a person's teenage years.

Why is "tries too hard" seen as a negative? Shouldn't we want children who put effort into things and are proud of their accomplishments? The student who works hard and trains hard shouldn't be picked on for their efforts.

Why is "backs down" seen as a negative? Boys are encouraged to be confrontational and often have their "manhood" questioned if they back down from a physical fight. I think in this day and age we should first promote non-violent solutions to problems.

Why would we want to encourage a society where people are ostracized for being short, disabled, fat, or poor, qualities that children have little to no control over?

These are all qualities that are not necessarily bad things; They can have a negative spin attached to them. Questioning the manhood of disabled people is a rotten thing to do, IMO.

Notice, too, that the chart does not have qualities like "nice" and "mean", or "fair" and "unfair." Those are the type of universal qualities that people can agree are categorically positive and negative.

The main question of the article and the presentation is not "What makes a man a man?" It's "Why do our children have this impression of strength and manhood? And is that healthy?" I think the answer to that last question is a resounding "no."


Messages In This Thread

Gender expectationsCody Miller3/20/14 4:22 am
     Nail. Head. *NM*The Loot3/20/14 4:37 am
     Re: Gender expectationsKal3/20/14 10:24 am
           Re: Gender expectationsXenos3/20/14 11:41 am
                 Re: Gender expectationsKal3/20/14 11:55 am
                       Re: Gender expectationsXenos3/20/14 2:00 pm
           +1Arithmomaniac3/20/14 12:09 pm
     Re: Gender expectationsGrizzlei3/20/14 2:38 pm
           Re: Gender expectationsCody Miller3/20/14 5:30 pm
                 Response: Now with 1x more *GIF*Grizzlei3/20/14 6:24 pm
                       That last paragraphZackDark3/20/14 6:53 pm
                             Re: That last paragraphGrizzlei3/20/14 7:01 pm
                                   Re: That last paragraphZackDark3/20/14 10:18 pm
                       Re: Response: Now with 1x more *GIF*Cody Miller3/20/14 8:21 pm
                             Re: Response: Now with 1x more *GIF*Kal3/20/14 8:30 pm
                                   Re: Response: Now with 1x more *GIF*Cody Miller3/20/14 8:47 pm
                             Re: Response: Now with 1x more *GIF*Grizzlei3/20/14 9:06 pm
                                   Input from the fly on the wallSonofMacPhisto3/21/14 11:20 am
                                         Re: Input from the fly on the wallThe Loot3/22/14 7:46 pm

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