And It's Been Awhile

Hello, Hello, I have neglected this blog and for that I'm sorry. It's not like I don't like blogging it's just I NEVER have anything to write about. As I mentioned before I am not a very profound or deep person. Stuff just doesnt effect me like it does others. One thing I do want to discuss is gender roles is American society. This is something that has been bugging me for quite sometime now. Feminists are always championing for equality between genders but can there really be true equality? What about male's rights? Of course there are double standards on both sides. But are they politically correct in this day and age when gender lines are blurred everyday. Then with that comes the question What about transgenders and those who feel as if they were born in the wrong body? Where do they fall in terms of gender roles? From childhood we are taught that men are protectors and women are the protected. Men go out and work and in return the wife shows her devotion by keeping up with the home. Many people call this view chauvinistic and outdated. I dont agree. I believe myself to be a modernt traditionalist of sorts. I believe that we can have the same gender roles and achieve equality at the same time. To me a women should desire protection and provision from men as long as she views it as a priviledge and not a right i.e., She wants the man to do for her but she doesnt expect it. The same goes for men. A man should know that his woman may show him gratitude by taking care of him and their home but it should never be taken for granted. But what happens when people abuse their gender roles in society? Examples being when a man sluts off every chance he gets because he won't be considered a whore like a woman or the woman who cries rape or calls her brothers or cousins on a man when she doesnt get her way in the relationship. But there are other stereotypes and associations we have with gender that have nothing to do with relationships and romance. Traditonally men are the rough and rugged type. The type that play sports and drinkbeer and do other "manly" stuff. Guys that dont follow this stereotype are often classified as gay or weird. I am quite fashionable in my book. I read magazines like GQ and follow up with new trends and know the difference between a designer label (Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen) and a name brand (Rocawear, Babyphat) which is something many guys would not be able to or dont care to do. This fall an occassion came up where I was hit on by a guy simply because of what I was wearing. I was walking through the student center with Paige and this guy proceeds to walk up to me and ask me if I had a boyfriend completely bypassing the fact that I was walking very closely with a girl. Upset I quickly grabbed Paige's hand and said she was my girlfriend. I was greatly upset. How do you just walk up to someone and just assume that they're apart of your lifestyle. Paige later brought it to my attention that it was probably because of the way I was dressed (white button up, green sweater, black pants, and black and white volcom slip ons) Traditionally men, especially the all american man's man, dont pay much attention to clothing and style so when people see a man who dresses better than average they're automatically percieved as gay. Kanye West, Pharrell and Andre 3000 have all expressed their feelings of this problem. Women also have problems like this. And we can't forget that race also has a hand in how gender roles are charactierized. So my final question to you is where do you stand on the subject of gender roles in modern society?