Well the title says it all, but as soon as I saw this on the front page of MSN's website, my gender communication bells were ringing. Immediately I thought, "This is going to be narrow-minded, stereotype reinforcing, gender biased crap that they usually have in these sections..." but I clicked it nonetheless. Upon arriving at the loaded webpage, my suppositions were proven right. Among some of the "gems" of advice they give males are "Don't forget to carry cash" or "Don't refer to your mom as your best friend" or "Don't blow-dry your hair".
I find it funny how our own society regurgitates old gender roles even though change is on the horizon. For instance, the editors of Marie Claire say to stick to these traditionally masculine roles yet our society has welcomed such changes as men having long hair, wearing "guyliner", wearing tighter fitting t-shirts and even straight men wearing "GASP!" girl pants. But no matter how often I am proven correct about these MSN Dating spotlights, I still read them and once in a while there is actually one or two bits of advice that aren't completely terrible. In conclusion, I wonder if there are signs pointing towards a forward-thinking, less strict gender role reality or are these few changes just trends in fashion that will dissipate without much sociological implications? And what do you guys think of this article? Ridiculous? Yet I must agree with the polishing of high school trophies... that is just vain and who does that anyways?
4 comments:
This is an interesting srticle and I just have one question. WHo comes up with these things that men shouldn't do in the company of women? Is this just one persons point of view or did they ask several people?
Interesting point you make about whether this articles are based on legitimate sociological change or if they are simply trends. If you look at society as a big picture, I think that it's a bit of both. We have certainly grown as a society and have become overall more accepting of unique appearances. However, looking back through time, every decade has a "first foot forward" trend that some people wear proudly and others ridicule loudly. That won't ever change because opinions will always exist and things like fashion and music will always be objective. I think this time in our country is really interesting, especially with the presidential election coming up, because we've got a lot of young, liberal thinkers. Our generation is one of the first to come from another rather liberal generation, generally speaking, so it's weeding out some of the conservative ideas our country was founded on and making room for people to form their own opinions. However, it still varies dramatically from state to state and group to group. So I guess I don't really know if we are making a change or if I just feel like it, as I'm sure many of those have before me, because I feel like I'm a part of a "first-step-forward" group at this time in history.
As as a guy, yes there are some newer attitudes/trends that may have not been considered by previous generations of men. However, I about fell out of my chair when you said "guyliner and womens' pants"...are you serious? Maybe I am aging myself now, but that's crazy...sorry ladies, nothing against your pants lol. As a modern guy, I can accept being a little more polished, if you will, then men of the past. But altering our bodies to be more feminine with make-up or womens' clothing doesn't seem to fit with being a straight guy. So aside from obvious things no person should do in front of another person (at least in public), how do straight women like to compare themselves to straight guys in their (womens) clothes?
Yeah, I would like to shake the hands of the committee responsible for producing such detailed dating advice. I am safe to assume that educated people joined together and discussed these trends aren't I? I mean I would hope the MSN did not just post the responses of a single writer.
I'm also relieved to see that dating fits neatly into a categorized box. All people must feel the same about these rules so as long as you stay within the lines you will be successful. Screw being genuine.
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