THE GENDER GAME

so i had an interesting conversation with a friend last night about gender roles. or maybe it was the lack of gender roles. or the lack of fulfilling gender roles. or the change of gender roles. obviously the conversation wasn't very conclusive, so i feel the need to write further on the subject in order to come to some sort of conclusion--or not.

and so the pattern that we know and love is "boy meets girl. boy likes girl. boy asks girl on date (including details such as when and where)." i'm not even going to address what happens after that. frankly most of us don't even get THIS far...which is exactly the issue i'm trying to sort out here. the bottom line is that young people just aren't dating anymore. and if we read in between the lines this means that boys aren't asking girls on dates, and girls are [endlessly, vainly] waiting to be asked. i'd really like to find the gutless worm who is at the head of this cultural revolution and give him a good kick in the face; i'm afraid that a more southerly strike wouldn't have much effect on a demasculinated man.

WHY is this happening?

1. there's this concept of reverse-racism--a term that in and of itself is racist...but it's the only one out there, so i'm using it. reverse-racism says "we're not equals until i have more privileges than you do". example: the american south of the 20th century. i think i can safely say that this applies to the feminist movement as well. when women put their pants on and entered the work force they faced a good deal of discrimination for quite a few decades. rosey the riveter said "i can do anything that a man can do". because, really, it doesn't take a lot of skill to pee standing up. well then those soprano voices decided that "i can do anything that a man can do and i can do it better". and so the alpha female in her power suit started to scratch away at the towering ego of MAN. the concept conjures of images of feisty cats clawing away at carpeted scratching posts. (and yes, that could be a phallic symbol.) so it seems that by crossing the line of gender-dictated boundaries there's just not room for all of us. the delicate balance has been throw off and it's forcing men to toe the line of lady-like living.

how does this relate to our "boy meets girl" scenario? men are afraid of women. women scare men with their degrees and opinions. men feel more at risk when they put themselves in a vulnerable position before a strong woman. what they don't know is that the risk is NOT greater! females are the masters (mistresses?) of the double standard. they want to work nose to nose with men in the office, but when it comes to relationships they'll step back into sweet victorian conventions and wait patiently for prince charming to step up.

2. there's an ancient art known as communication that has been strangled by cordless phones and invisible wifi waves. in an effort to indulge our lazy asses someone came up with text messaging! this is the easiest and safest and lamest way to get a date in the history of mankind. i will say no every time. if i like you i will ask you to call me after assuring you that you will not be rejected. that's really much too generous, but that's what happens when you're desperate. so if he's incapable of having a vocal conversation lasting less than five minutes to ASK her on a date, he's terrified at the prospect of 2 to 3 hours of the same kind of interaction!

3. TBA