I want to speak today on the injustice done to boys in our society. Yes, you read it right. No its not a typing error. I am talking about the injustice done to BOYS and not girls. A precautionary note here: I am not saying that there is no injustice towards girls. There is a lot. I agree. However, I am talking about the injustice done towards all boys, which may be small in scale but has gone unnoticed.
Why is it that after 9pm in the night, only boys are told to go out and get some grocery? It was not a literal question and I know the answer myself. It is because girls venturing outside after 9pm is dangerous. They may get kidnapped etc. However, don't our parents care about us, boys? Can't we get kidnapped too? I know this injustice is quite silly. I am just pointing it out because I am too lazy to go out and get grocery. So, for my convenience I am pointing out this injustice.
Getting to serious things, I have a couple of female friends. It is the time when we fill each others' slam books. I read a couple of girls' slam book (which I was not supposed too. He he) and I found common messages such as ' Love youuuu' and 'Mwahhhhh.' (Please do notice that each ending letter of the ending word is extended. Typical girls stuff.) However, if any GUY had written the same words in another guy's slam book, what would have been the reaction? I don't think I need to explain. You all know well. He would be termed sophisticatedly 'GAY' or in gawahti language, a ' GUD .' That's not fair, right? I mean if girls can say the same things, why can't we? And it is not that girls have a right to say it from their birth. Someone must have started it. Even a guy must have started using the same phrases, but as a girl had already started using the same phrase, he would be heckled and teased till he would be frustrated of his life!!!!
Another example. That of holding hands. I pointed this put in our school magazine too. If a girl holds another girls hand, its OK. But if a guy holds another guys hands, its not. Why these double standards? I have asked some girls about this too, but the answer I get is ' It is girly stuff . Guys are not supposed to say it.' WHY?
Hey, don't get me wrong here. I don't say we want to do all those things. But the fact is that, if girls do something that boys do, then they are called ' tomboys' which is not derogatory and is cool with everyone. However, if guys start doing something that girls do, then they are heckled. I mean can't we wear pink shirts? Blue is said to be a guy colour, but girls do wear blue tops. WHY THIS INJUSTICE.....?
P.S- I know the injustice I am talking about is quite trivial. This blog is to be taken in a light-hearted manner. So if any pro-women organization reads this blog( highly unlikely) please notice that it is light hearted and does not intend any hurt to the women community.
Your questions and observations, althought they may seem rather simple and trivial, are actually very relevant.
ReplyDeleteI guess the answer to all of them is the fact that we live in a largely male-dominated society and right through the ages the man has always been considered to be stronger, while the woman was always considered to be the inferior one, at least when it came to physical strength and the ability to defend herself when faced with danger.That would account for women not being allowed to stay out pretty late.
Again, due to the fact that males are always expected to be physical stronger, anything that would make them seem weaker, in other words, 'like a girl', has never been accepted by society. That's why, pink clothing for ages was considered rather girly and if a boy ever wore something like that, he'd be teased for as long as he was alive. Of course, things are changing gradually and these boundaries that have existed for so many centuries, are gradually reducing.
About boys doing things that are always looked upon as girly stuff, I think that too will change with time. Just as you're thinking about it, a lot of other people must also be reflecting on things like this and wondering why we have these fixed patterns of behaviour.
My view is that it's all a matter of our perceptions. We perceive and think that a particular action is girly, and that boys are expected to behave only in this way, and that's why when anything seems contrary to that, it's difficult to accept it.Our perceptions are based on our upbringing and also largely on the society we've been brought up in. For those of us who've grown up in a middle-class family, there are definite ideas of right and wrong in our mind, instilled in us by our parents. Probably in the Western world and in the richer classes of Indian society, even guys blowing kisses to one another is not considered to be inappropriate, coz they've grown up with a more open outlook towards life.
Nice thought-provoking post Shaishav!
actually.. i found it funny..
ReplyDelete(i dunno if im suppose to.. but still)
had a good laugh. ;D