In the current climate, three main "gender issues" emerge.
Firstly, that progress has been made in the way that people are perceived. There is a much stronger "individual" focus rather than gender based distinctions. Both male and female definitions of self have (eventually) become much less based on stereotypical "roles" and more focused on specific "functions". Nevertheless, the repercussions of these changes have had serious impact on interaction between the sexes.
Men are currently experiencing a severe loss of identity. It is no longer acceptable to "just be the man" as their fathers were, neither is it desirable to be a "gay best friend" and since men are creatures of extremes, they seem unable to find a happy medium in between.
Thirdly, women have always been pressured by society to achieve. Motherhood has always been high on the list, as have being the "good little wife" which reached it's height in the fifties when the expectations were of domestic bliss and the supreme hostess. In the eighties, following the revolution, these changed to power dressing and career success. In the millennium, women are expected to; have a career, achieve success in that career and prove themselves in the work place, have and then personally take care of children (without this affecting aforementioned career), participate in the "ladette" culture, have a wide circle of friends, be a domestic goddess a la Nigella, maintain a svelte size ten and to do all this whilst attractively turned out in the latest fashion.
So, the balance is unsurprisingly a little off kilter. Interestingly, in the Guardian's article, it seemed as though the "old school" style of complaining about men was still popular amongst most. "Well, I love men very much and think they're wonderful and they're much better at reading maps than I am but they are very messy when they cook." That's Crap!
Men never have had and never will have any foresight. They function entirely in the moment, surviving on small, bite size chunks of information. They are good at reading maps and at fixing broken equipment around the house, but everyone forgets how long it takes them to achieve. Men don't have any better idea than women do of how a DVD player works, or how to get to Norwich from Sheffield. What they do have is an innate ability to remove themselves from any situation and apply absolute focus until the task is achieved. Even if that does take two hours and everything is in a mess when they're finish. This concept of crapitude does demonstrate that men are very handy in a crisis. In the style of The Terminator, they will save the day, but with absolutely no regard for all the things they had to smash, shoot, kick, punch and drive through in order to get results.
Another popular misconception in the "why men are crap" game is that their simplicity makes them childlike. Women complain of regularly having to look after men, having to explain complex situations to them, helping them with personal hygiene, washing their clothes, cooking for them. "My husband is so crap", they say, "that without me, he just wouldn't be able to function." Well Lady, the reason that you're wrong there is that they would function perfectly well, it just would be a very different version of how what you call functioning. Men probably don't develop much past childhood, but the women who persist in mothering them and pandering to their needs are as much to blame.
The real reasons why men are crap has nothing to do with stereotypical and traditional views. It has nothing to do with male values, male egos and pride and their inherent need for sheds. Men love to gossip. They love divulging secrets and hearing about the misfortune of others. Like an embarrassing Great Aunt, they say the most inappropriate things wherever possible. Like a smelly dog, they fart without warning. Like a child, they blurt out secrets and surprises. Last but not least, they whinge. About everything on a permanent basis. Everything they say is centered around a complaints. They also tend to nag quite a lot, especially harassing defenseless animals or very young children.
So, men are crap. And they're crap because all the reasons they give for women being crap are things they're guilty of themselves. Nagging, moaning, whinging and gossiping. And all Neil French and Gordon Ramsey have demonstrated is that yes, they are men and yes, they are crap.
Let's just all play nice shall we boys.
No comments:
Post a Comment