Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Real Men & Women

This morning, I got myself worked up a bit. Not enough to start a revolution, but pretty darn close.

I ran across some stupid meme about what 'real' men want. There was a voluptuous vixen in a bathing suit and the caption read: real men like curves. I've seen it before. Real men don't like bags of bones. Real women have curves. It's annoying. All those posters out there detailing what 'real' men and women want, and what makes men and women real.

It's sort of confounding to me. Are men who like skinny women not real? What about men who like blondes? Are women who are skinny not real?  What about women who have red hair? Last time I checked, we don't brush shoulders with cyborgs, so who exactly are these unreal men and women? Where exactly are you running into them? Furthermore, why the hell do you know what they want?

Now, if I am mistaken and artificial intelligence is so advanced that there are machines walking around next to us, like Terminator, and these posters are really detailing the differences in tastes between humans and cyborgs, then pardon my stupidity.

If I am not mistaken, and people are not-so-subtly tearing other people apart by implying their preferences are wrong thus making them fake, then I refuse to pardon myself. To all those people stuck in the mindset that who they are and what they like make them better than others, grow up.

I will have none of your schoolyard antics.

It's like when you get a new shiny toy for your birthday and take it to school only to have someone say they have the same toy, but in red, so it's cooler.

You know I don't agree with fat shaming. But I don't agree with skinny-shaming either. Or average shaming. Beard shaming. Big feet shaming. Silly nose shaming. Red hair shaming. None of it.

I am anti-shaming.

No, really. Think about it for a second. Let's say only 'real' men like green Skittles. That means ever man who dislikes green skittles is fake! Sounds stupid, doesn't it?

Well, it is! And it sounds just as stupid when applied to anything else, including race, sex, creed, religion, body shapes, hair colours and any other personal quality in human beings.

Breaking news: we're all real. We bleed blood. Our hearts beat. There are nerves and tendons and muscles and veins comprising our bodies. All of us hurt and feel and have the right to simply exist. And we can like what we like. Like who we like. Our personal preferences don't make us any less human. Unless it is promoting hate, but that's a completely different post.

These are the things that cross my mind. It is a blessing and a curse

And now, a ridiculous cute picture of a dog.

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