Männlichkeiten

[mothwing]

English, "manhoods", or even "virilities", the title of our seminar on manliness, various constructs of manliness, and manliness, men and boys in schools, extra-curricular activities, leisure time, family, job, etc.. The last session was on Thursday, nut I can't help thinking about something I overheard during that last session.

It was another one of those courses which hammer home the view that all gender is a Construct and prone to change with the society around it. Another of those courses in which you learn that "gender" and gender roles are made up of stereotypes and norms, mostly, that nothing is inherent. After half a year of all the relativity you are completely brainwashed, I can tell you. Terms like "man" and "women" lose their communicative value completely and you find yourself avoiding them whenever possible. 
It is not possible to escape this, resistance is useless.

Unless you are one of the two sports student I had the good fortune of overhearing. 

They had a conversation about a fellow-student of theirs which left me in open-mouthed awe. 

"I don't like her at all," one of them said. "She is like this total militant bull dyke. She has super-short hair, and she even wears those strange skater trousers only men wear. I mean, like, seriously, how can you, as a woman?"

Her friend nodded vigorously and agreed.

That fellow student of hers should really double check with this expert of femininity whether her clothing is appropriate for the only construct of feminitniy in existence. 

There quite apparently is no helping some people, especially not those who after half a year of gender seminars still manage to think inside the box to such a baffling degree. I mean, sure, admittedly, it was a seminar that only acknowledged the sex/gender binary, but even so, where have they been when we talked about constructs and stereotypes, that is, all the time?

Some people's minds can only be broadened with a large crowbar.

Comments

[dstroyrofworlds.livejournal.com]

The world changed a lot.
Students don't "study" anymore. They only learn.
However much they keep in their head, it never reaches their heart or soul.
They are clearly not "sophisticated", they are just walking note books, computers, robots and libraries.
The readiness to change has vanished from our society but being ready to change if necessary is of high important for all kinds of real "wisdom" and intelligence.
It's a sad world we are living in, to me it even seems to be doomed, being crowded with people who don't try anymore or are ready anymore because this new age's message has to be "it's okay how I am".
Yes, it is. But this does not mean that you could not even be better.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

I wish they WOULD learn.

With you on the "it's ok" thing, though. It often takes the form of, "It's ok to be a small-minded, condescending, arrogant little asshat - because I am an individjuuhl and PROUD of who I am, yeah!"

[dstroyrofworlds.livejournal.com]

Same here, I wish they would. I wish EVERYBODY would in the way their intelligence makes it possible for them. But no, they do it as you said. Horrible, isn't it? And now even the universities go down the drain.