Women and Men in Society

Let’s imagine a situation in which politicians are formally discussing the question of whether to start a war with country X.

So, ladies and gentlemen, should we go to war with country X?

Arguments that are acceptable:

•   No, because we are not likely to win due to lack of resources.

•   No, because it’s too expensive.

•   Yes, because it is likely to boost economy and be profitable to us or our political / business allies (this one might require masking with flowery rhetoric but fundamentally, this train of thought is very acceptable).

•   Yes, because they have attacked our allies, and punishment is due.

Arguments that are likely to be laughed out of the room as abstract, weak, naive or irrational:

•   No, because they have not done anything bad to us and therefore it’s immoral.

•   No, because it doesn’t feel right.

•   No, because it would create unnecessary violence, loss of human life, pain, injustice, and broken homes.

The laughable arguments, of course, represent all things female, emotional irrational—which really stands for “non-linear”—and so on. 

To simplify things greatly—and with a disclaimer that individual people may carry any amount of male and female energy, and act accordingly—women have a natural talent to sniff out connections between elements, and men have a natural talent to focus on a concrete task and get it done, pronto. That’s how nature has it, and it’s beautiful. When in balance, it’s awesome.

I am not so secretly enamored with the male ability to zoom in on something concrete and get it done as if nothing else in the world exists. I find it admirable and OMG sexy, as long as there is no nuclear mushroom hovering over the scene. (If there is a nuclear mushroom, it tells me that nobody consulted with a woman.)

When there is balance and when men don’t go to war without consulting with the bigger picture and women’s perspective, the world is in a happy place. Right now, however, the “female” values are more or less in the toilet—and when people talk about this in public, the discussion is often corporate and masturbational. 

Whenever I am in any kind of professional environment, I always need to talk like a man if I want to be perceived as an equal. (Again, I said “equal”… that implies the male default.) If I were to talk how I think , then I would be just that, “a woman”. Not to be taken seriously.

And listen, talking like a man is not that difficult. I went to good schools, I can fake it in my sleep. It’s just that it’s extremely annoying that in order to be taken seriously, you need to pretend to be like them, especially given that your way of thinking is often faster than theirs. This slowing-down factor is annoying as hell.

I am actively figuring out what I can do in my place to shake the default. If I can move it an inch, I would do the world good. I’ve tried to insist on sanity, it’s hard as fuck. Resistance is thick. I’ve trained myself to ignore the public opinion and any laughter that meets me. It’s still hard as f*ck.
We’ll see.

Photo credit: sovposters.ru