So, I went to the valentines day gala last weekend (Quite unwillingly) to celebrate the fact that I have yet again managed to avoid the crushing grip of a relationship. In order to occupy my time there, my mind wandered back to my women and philosophy course and I tried to view the gala from a feminist perspective (Yes, I was that bored). I was curious about gender roles in our society and whether or not women and men were allowed to enjoy them or take pleasure in them despite them being stereotypical. Before the dance, some of the girls I was going with were taking their precious time getting ready and it took them over an hour to finish it. They claimed to do this to look pretty and proper. Now, this is a typical stereotype where women take forever to get ready, and I was wondering whether or not it was socially acceptable to further this kind of stereotype if one honestly enjoyed getting ready.
It was the same with the dancing. Some of the men and women were dancing in a manner that asserted their gender. Some men were dancing with the woman in a clearly masculine and dominant manner, while the women danced in a sensual, submissive manner around the men. And once again, everyone seemed to be having so much fun, despite these stereotypical gender roles. I was just wondering if this was fueling the feminist or egalitarian cause and if it was okay to fall into one's gender role if one enjoys it.
In my experience, feminists don't typically have a problem with people acting gender-stereotypical ways as long as it isn't harmful (ex: men being violent).
ReplyDeleteYeah, the mating dance of the American Youth is highly scripted by gender. So scripted, in fact, that any deviation from it seems like a joke or a mistake - for example, if I went to the Valentine's Day gala in my cupcake pajama pants and my wolf shirt, most people would probably express confusion condescension, and/or amusement. Not exactly the kind of time I want to have at a dance party.
ReplyDeletePeople don't make their choices in a vacuum. Sometimes these choices are essentially made for them.