Gender Roles

What exactly defines a man? What defines a woman? The author of the blog Forever in Hell discusses the traditional roles of men and women with her post titled Traditional Gender Roles and You. In her post she discusses the sheer ridiculousness of the idea that men and women are defined by what they enjoy doing:

Based on my love of home repair, video games and football, am I not a woman? What about my hubby? He loves video games and football, but he's a great decorator, enjoys cooking and asks for directions-is he less of a man? ... In case you're having trouble with this one- no. I am a woman. my hubby is a man.

She also provides a response to another blog titled Self Evident Truths. One of the posts on this blog titled Feminists, Men, and Lost Masculinity talked about the idea that there are no masculine men in the world.

There have always been roles that have been considered masculine and those that have been considered feminine. Is it right to say that what activities we like to do or what we happen to be good at determines whether or not we are masculine or feminine? Absolutely not. "It's silly to suppose that simply because we have the freedom to reject traditional gender roles that I am not feminine and my husband is not masculine." (Traditional Gender Roles and You). I have plenty of friends that do not follow typical gender roles. I have one female friend that loves shop for clothes and make up but at the same time she loves working on cars and playing sports. I have a guy friend that loves style and cooking but he knows nothing about sports. My female friend does not feel like any less of a woman and my guy friend is just as manly as the next guy. Even I do not follow the traditional roles that I am supposed to follow. I hate cooking and I am no good at cleaning but at the same time I am much better at fixing things than most of my guy friends. The idea that I can not consider myself female due to the fact that I like typically male things is just ridiculous.

I loved when the author of Traditional Gender Roles and You decided to respond to the post of one of her fellow bloggers. The author of the post Feminists, Men, and Lost Masculinity stated that there are no real masculine men in the world anymore. Some of the things he said defined a "manly man" really did not make any sense. Luckily, the author of Traditional Gender Roles and You was ready with a witty response.

Cotton is the only material I'll wear. seriously? you're such a manly man that you check the tags on all garments before you buy them... I never ask for directions when I'm with my wife (gotta keep up the image) so rudeness makes your d*ck bigger? really, this poor woman is forced to follow you in willful lostness for no good reason? get a GPS.

Some of the other aspects that he believes make a truly masculine man are: scratching at awkward times and places, grunting, burping, shooting really big handguns. How does that possibly make you a man, that just makes you disgusting (and for your information, there are women that are just as disgusting). The author of Traditional Gender Roles and You was completely right in mocking the author of Feminists, Men, and Lost Masculinity. He never actually gave a good reason on why he believes that true masculinity is gone.

Femininity and masculinity should not be defined by what roles we follow. What determines our true gender identity is what we see ourselves as. Since I consider myself feminine, then I am feminine. Then again, if a man wants to consider his self feminine then that is his prerogative. We can only define ourselves and what we believe makes a man and a woman.