1/11/2009

Mockery

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As a mother of boys I have begun to notice how ubiquitous gender jokes are. I admit to having "typed" many-a-man, and now that I'm raising two sons I find the categorization of men obnoxious.

Walking through the mall, I see young girls wearing shirts that say "Boys are Stupid Throw Rocks at Them." How outraged would women be if a man, or even a young boy, wore a shirt that said "Girls are Stupid Throw Rocks at Them." Boys would be sent home from school, the press would be called, and the women who have fought for women's liberation would be outraged.

Pay attention to commercials on the television. There is a marketing trend where commercials have a beautiful, lean, and somewhat sassy woman married to a dumbed down man who is slightly overweight, and partially balding. The commercial will somehow play on some stereotype, and will end with the woman swooping in with how to resolve the issue.

Many women do with their words what they have fought hard against. Women have spent generations trying to be recognized as equal to men, and seem willing to trample men's egos to gain their own sense of power. The demeaing attitude of which I write reminds me of the school yard, and my Nana explaining that those that insult you only do so because they feel inferior.

Somehow it is acceptable to demean boys and men of all ages. The lumping of my boys into the stereotype is offensive, and yet I still struggle to overcome my own tendencies to form opinions based on our societal classifications.

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