in praise of men
This is an experiment. Comments and brutal honesty welcome.i like men. Let me say that a little louder. I LIKE MEN. In fact, truth is, i usually like them better than women. There. Now send in the Feminazis. Assemble the firing squad. But before i take my last breath, at least hear me out. i have my reasons. And though this be madness, yet there is method in't.
Men are fun to be with. They laugh out loud (sans shrill screeching), act silly, joke about being fat. Celebrate their beer bellies. Make crude jokes. They know the fine art of Letting Things Slide, of not taking life too seriously, and of not allowing life to take them too seriously. The best men carry with them an air of confident good humour that can see them through almost any situation. And that confidence makes the people around them feel good as well. It's a mojo kinda thing.
Men don't talk about spa treatments. As far as i'm concerned, spa treatments are the single most deadly conversation killers ever dreamt up by the human race, followed by manicures and diets. "You know i tried out the seaweed with milk honey and yoghurt package yesterday... it was so good, you must try it too. Only $135 after discount! And the best thing is that it comes with a manicure voucher - 20% off your next manicure with them. i felt so good after that i treated myself to an ice-cream... i was like, that's 200 calories that i'll have to work off at the gym..." You get the idea.
Men know better than to take things too personally. They take criticism cheerfully and will still be your friend even if you tell them that their singing really, really sucks. i like working with men because they are task-oriented and direct. If they want you to get something done by 5am tomorrow dammit, they will tell you so, in no uncertain terms. None of that circuitous emotional kid-gloving for them. You always know exactly what's what when you're working with men, and there is little need to second-guess them because, hey, they're simple, uncomplicated people.
Having good male friends is one of the greatest blessings a woman can have. It helps balance out the baleful effects of estrogen overload, and contributes a healthy sense of perspective and objectivity to her life. And that, when seen in contrast to the emotionally-charged, purple-hazy, narrow-horizoned perspective so typical of the fairer sex, can be as refreshing as an ice-cold beer on a hot windless afternoon.
Alright. You can bring on the firing squad now. The first female anti-feminist, dying for her cause. Roll over, Joan of Arc. The gender war is where it's all at now.
posted by eothen @ 11:46 PM
5 Comments:
re: the spas, my dearest, obviously you have not hung out with the pantywaists or metrosexuals (since we're dealing with old stereotypes here). I think this entry is interesting especially since the premise seems to imply that female-male friendships have to be "justified" in some way. Very intriguing idea.
lovingly,
i-shan
PS: apologies for the general uselessness of my comments. As you know, when I'm off I'm really off.
hmm. you're probably referring to straight men. straight heterosexual macho macho men, because most people i know have at least shrilly screeched once in their lives.
and don't get me started on spa treatment chatter, or being straightforward with what they want. (actually, isn't it a sterotype that men don't reveal their feelings?) i guess the most interesting thing i find is that, stereotypically a woman would want to find a *gay* man to be her honorary sister. somewhere in between oestrogen high, and testosterone nausea.
incidentally, guys who go "hur hur hur, that zhar bor so chio" or "eh who want to bet man u arsenal tonite" aren't much fun either. trust me, men suck. this would make good GP reading though. laugh. i think my comments have surpassed anybody else's in fluffiness.
well, yeah i guess the ones i'm thinking of *are* straight. but not machomacho. not keen on machomacho - they tend to be such control freaks and mostly don't seem too interested in women as *people* (as opposed to potential mate, sex object, subordinate, general dishrag). something nicely balanced. i'm all for balance. _zen_
and as for the not-revealing-feelings stereotype - well, i was talking more about work situations really, which i think are really much easier when handled at a very objective, non-feeling kinda level.
yes i realise this is *very* stereotype-ing. heh. fun once in a while. :)
Too many hasty generalisations... I would not have expected that of you! are you certain all men are like that?
heh. it's humour, me dahlink. ;P sweeping statements and blatant exaggeration.
you're right, it's not something you can do for formal academic essays.
and nope, not all men are cool like that. :) lots of them aren't. i guess it's just that the ones whom i choose to keep as friends are. :)
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