Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

There's a moment, sometimes called "the final push" or "dying throes". The saying "It gets worse before it gets better".



For instance, when you really begin to discipline your child for the first time, after they've already learned that they can scream at you and you'll give them what they want to shut them up. There's always an acceleration of behavior at that moment. Where the child will scream louder and longer and maybe even throw things around. A final rally before they realize that what they're doing simply isn't going to work anymore.



This is how I feel about society's relationship with women right now.



Twix is producing commercial after commercial in which it's made to look like lying to women is a good thing. The men in these commercials eat a twix, think up a lie, and are rewarded for that. There is no consequence.



Axe commercials in general are groanworthy, but now they have one that makes extremely immature and insipid jokes about "cleaning your balls", complete with a closeup shot of a woman fondling a pair of golfballs in her hand.



Twilight. Do I really have to explain? This sham of a novel series depicting the classic abusive relationship (The only phrase missing from the books dialouge is "but I love him!!" paired with a description of Bella having a black eye and a broken arm) in a romantasized light and being sold to teenage girls all over the world.



The new 3D movie "Alpha + Omega", which is an insult both to women AND to anyone who knows anything at all about wolves.



These are just some of the things going on today. And it's not just obvious things like this. The continued reinforcement of the gender barrier and all it's stereotypes (Men only like videogames and Football and Beer, Women only like makeup and cheesecake and Romance novels) gives me the feeling that generally speaking, society is going through this same desparate acceleration of negative behaviors before finally (hopefully) giving way to the truth. Women like videogames, Men enjoy romance novels. The idea of the 'gender norm' is an illusion. One that's persisted for far too long. And while there are people who relate to those categories, they should relate as individuals. And not speak for the entire gender.



I don't think it will ever be prefect. I mean, there are things that we as a society don't even think about half the time. It's become so completely normal that it goes completely missed. Like when a guy tells another guy "don't be a woman". Suddenly being female is a bad, undesireable thing. As if to say "Who on earth would want to be female?". That's insanely derogative, don't you think? You never hear women telling each other "Hey, don't be a Man".



It's bizarre to me how things like that are so easily overlooked. Even by myself. But even though it will never be perfect, I have to believe it will get better. After we're all done screaming and kicking our feet.









~Jett