The stronger sex

Generations have painted men as the stronger sex. Not just because they hunted and gathered, but because they don’t get emotional. 

For years, people said a woman couldn’t be president because of this. “What if she gets emotional while she’s PMS’ing and brings us to war?” Of course, that’s the extreme macho pig talking, but it’s still a joke that was told more times than any feminist would care to count. 

For years, we have been painted by men as the weaker sex. We’re needy. We think with our hearts. We lack logic. We can’t be scientists. Blah blah blah. Or should I say womp womp womp, a la the droning teacher in Charlie Brown (also a woman - you’d never see a man portrayed in such a way).

But upon further dissection, I will go on record to say that that is nothing but a load of crap.

I might sit here and talk about my feelings. I may be irrational at times because of them. But the very fact that I have the balls - yes, balls - to admit that I have feelings makes me stronger than any man would care to admit. They can bury their emotions, think with their dicks and still call themselves strong. We take on our own feelings and try to figure out theirs, try to reconcile both. Tell me that multitasking doesn’t count for anything.

A friend of mine is currently trying to figure out how to handle a situation with a guy she’s dating. She’s dealing with a full plate at work, grasps at a social life, and a guy who will disappear for a few days with no warning. And yet, even though she’s dealing with all of these moving parts, she’s afraid that if she tells the guy how she’s feeling she’ll scare him away.

We’re always afraid we’ll scare them away. Which begs the question - why would someone so strong scare so easily? We have to sacrifice what we want and how we want it for the whims of the opposite sex. I’ve seen my female friends do it time and again. I’ve had out of body experiences watching myself do it. It’s not fair. And at the same time... what choice do we have? All becoming lesbians and merely dating each other? As Vera Farmiga’s character said in ‘Up in the Air,’ “We’re no picnic ourselves.”

But at the end of the day, what makes our lives easier? Pretending to be subordinate for a chance at what we really want? Or rising up and quite possibly ending up with none of it? People always tell women we can’t have it all - men rarely hear the phrase. But sometimes it takes a stronger person to accept the shortcomings. And for that I suppose we can silently raise our arms in victory.