Now before you get all Anti-Sexism Pro-Feminist on me, dear internet, know this: I was once like you. I mean, besides a few anatomical changes, men and women are totally interchangeable - equal in capability, potential, intelligence, etc., etc., etc. Right?
YET. NOT TRUE. Honestly, how many of you are holding a double standard when you say men and women are/should be completely equal - and yet, you expect (whether explicitly or implicitly) women to do certain things in certain realms better (e.g., childcare) and men to do certain things in certain realms better (e.g., Mr. Fix-It)? Or, if you want to argue semantics, perhaps "better" isn't exactly correct. How about "more innately?"
(**Aside: This speaks to a larger issue of whence such double standards were derived, and we can most easily blame our own upbringing for instilling girl-y and boy-y ideas. So, long story short, there are many arguments that get caught up in the crusade for feminism.
HOWEVER. That was me then. This is me now. And I TOTALLY AGREE with girl-y and boy-y ideas. Yes, I am sexist in many ways. Yes, I stereotype men and women. I ASCRIBE TO GENDER ROLES.**)
I know, you newfangled and progressive little internet, I KNOW. You now disown me. SO BE IT!
My change in thinking regarding gender roles is really just a realization that yes, men and women are fundamentally different in many ways. That doesn't mean men and women can't be equally good at the same things, or that men and women may excel in opposite-sex arenas. It just means that I'm one of those antiquated believers in gender roles, and think that men and women are innately better at certain things - things that we have tended to stereotype and assign in the realm of gender roles.
I'll elaborate more later, perhaps, but it's nearing the end of the day and my brain is quickly turning to mush. Blame it on the hormones, if you will.
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