06/16/10

Today's Topic: Sexism


"-Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people" - Ferris Bueller


As time has passed and Ferris has become but a distant memory, the above quote popped into my head while trying to think of a tasteful way of discussing the topic of sexism. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of tasteless and tacky things to add on the topic, but for something such as this, I opted for a slightly classier path to kick off this post.


The definition of sexism is: A belief or attitude that one gender is inferior to, less competent than or less valuable than the opposite sex.

The term initially referred to a general sentiment towards women, but recently has been opened up to include discrimination against men as well.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of sexism are feminists. I don't mean people that aim for equality. I mean the man-hating, militant shehulks that find a way to protest anything and everything just because they can. They find ways of turning everything that comes out of a man's mouth into a phallic reference. Frankly ladies, we do not incessantly talk about our junk. If anything, we spend more time talking/thinking/dreaming about yours. For the record, feminists piss me off. They claim to be all about unity and trying to become equal but their actions promote nothing but segregation of the female gender rather than anything resembling unity.

I will save the rest of my rantings on feminism for a later time. I recognize that sexism is something that's experienced many times over every day all throughout the world. I'll admit I land somewhere in the middle-ground on this topic. I don't buy the whole "everyone's equal" concept, but at the same time, I don't think it's cool to discredit or go as far as hating someone just because they were born of a different gender.

Before you get your panties in a bunch about the first part of the previous sentence, I'll explain. Simply said, men and women are not equal. If we were, we'd be the same. That's the very definition of being equal. I don't claim to be able to give birth to a child. Why should I? I know that's something I'm incapable of doing. Am I upset about it, not for a moment. I know there are other things that, as a man, I can do that women can't; like write my name in the snow with ease. I know that the two acts are far from equal in the minds of most, as it should be.

What I really think we as a society need to realize is that the genders are different and that's OK. In fact, that's better than OK; it's great! The term "opposites attract" has plenty of examples, even in same-sex relationships. You usually have one partner who tends to be dominant, while the other more submissive. I believe we need to celebrate what makes us unique rather than getting uppity and pissed off at the others because they're different.


That being said, I've never been the target/victim of sexism. I'm a man and I've never questioned whether women have it better. For those who have experienced a manifestation of sexism, I'm sure none of these words offer solace. For that, I am sorry.


To those self-centered, sexist assholes who think and act as if people of the other gender are worthless, the better part of my being wishes you find your way to the nearest bonfire and slowly but surely fall into it. At no point is it acceptable to consider someone else inferior based solely on what genitals they have.



To sum up my thoughts: Being different is a good thing, but discriminating based on differences isn't. Oh, and feminists can suck it!




Cheers