Today as I sat in a hair salon, I noticed amongst the various hair products that there was a small orange container that read "Real Men Hair Cream" and then I had a thought:
What the heck do they mean by a "real man?" What does that even mean?
I have countless feelings on this topic, about how we shouldn't limit men or women to certain standards in society. This is definitely not the first time I have noticed a gender stereotypical product - there are thousands upon thousands of items amongst us that we are so used to seeing that we don't actually see them anymore. Does anyone else find that a little scary?
Years ago, a "manly man" was supposed to be a male who had strong muscles, a stable job that supported his family, a tough guy who never shed a tear in front of anyone. Even though times are changing slightly, there are still many people who feel that a "real" man should still act this way.
And then, don't get me started on women. Women were supposed to be solely the nurturers, more in tune with their emotions than their male counterparts, and not equally as smart and capable as men. Again, the standards for women have come a long way - but there is much that still needs to be done.
Next time you watch TV, I challenge you to study the commercials. Beer commercials, for instance, consist many times of a barely clothed, busty woman and men partying and doing "guy things." Some people may not find the problems that lie in these commercials - but think about it. Those commercials are feeding into our subconscious as we watch them. Women see this busty woman with barely an ounce of fat on her all-too-perfect body and the infectious thought comes into their mind, "Am I supposed to look that way to please other people?" And these detrimental effects don't only change the way women think, but men as well. Men, in turn, see some of these "manly" commercials that show men hanging all over women, drinking, and being "good-ole-boys" and this worms into their subconscious. Even if we tell ourselves that we don't believe we should act this way if we don't desire to do so, we are still subject to encountering it 24/7 in our media and society. What kind of example are we setting for the children growing up in this generation?
Having younger siblings, I know that there are so many times when they will see toys that are either pink-clad or blue-clad and they will say, "That's a girl toy" or "That's a boy toy, I can't play with that." Those situations infuriate me every time because these thoughts that they have are the beginnings of the thought of "This is something that a man can do, so therefore, being a woman, I am not good enough to do it." Or on the flip side, a man saying, "This is something that a typical woman would do, so I'm ashamed to do it."
Why is it seen as such a problem if men show emotion? If a woman shows strong leadership skills instead of being a follower, why is she seen as being ruthless? I'm tired of children being limited to certain aspects of life because of their gender, and due to this happening at a young age, it carries on through the rest of their lives. I'm tired of people telling me things like "If you do that, you'll never get a husband." Why does getting a husband have to define me?! Shouldn't the person I love love me for who I am, even if that means I don't act in a way that a "typical woman" should act like? It's time for us to find passion in the things that we love whether that be defying society's standards or adhering to them, but I'm tired of feeling society's judgment along the way.
