One of these things is not like the others
I am not a particularly girly person. I spent a lot of time with male friends and tended to prefer them to female friends, (with the exception of the female friends that I felt good enough about to consider closer friends) and have invaded the male-dominated classrooms of physics and theoretical math.
I had thought that this meant I was not a victim or adversely affected by the 'patriarchal society' I'd heard so much about.
I now think this actually means that I was rather foolishly ignorant.
I have lived and grown in this culture for more than two decades, and only recently realized that the men elevated in history, science, and politics - the men with buildings named in their honor and whose likenesses are carved into public houses of justice, of business, and of religion -
I only recently realized that I am not supposed to grow up to emulate these men. I cannot. They do not represent me or my future.
I am going to grow up to be a woman.
And I am only beginning to understand that there is a difference, and to realize what this difference might mean.
5 comments:
I hesitate ...
... as a male of the species at 56 years of age I question how I can respond to this ... to what degree I have directly or indirectly contributed to this perspective ...
... I find no indication that I been elevated within any of the institutions mentioned ... I have not seen my name or likeness on any public houses of any sort ...
.. except perhaps a lable. I do seem to have a bit of a reputation of being a "kind" and "nice" individual. I have often mused that being this way has never taken me very far.
I have recently been reading "A World Lit Only By Fire", where in the first section of his work, the author presents his arguement of the mindset that allowed the "Dark Ages" to be the "Dark Ages". I see great parallels with the mindset that exists today.
I guess that's fair.
I was trying to refer to a pervading idea of "this is what people should be like" where the models are all white men, and the societal pressures or ideals that might generate an expectation that people should be like those models.
But I suppose it is true that those models don't necessarily represent you any more than they represent me.
This is a really interesting post, and I would like to see you write more on it.
I haven't reached that realization yet, although I feel like it is a profound one. But then again, I think I am still at a relatively naive stage in my life. Maybe you can help me see it.
Thank you. I sometimes feel unsure how to think about this, so haven't written more, but I should. think about it. and write.
I sometimes wonder if maybe it would have been better not to notice. In the sense that 'man' is sometimes the default person, maybe I would have just continued to see myself worthy of anything that could be credited to a default person.
I'm not sure.
Post a Comment