Are you a manly man? A womanly woman? What do those terms mean to you?

2016-05-17T10:54:09-04:00

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2016/05/17/sorry-liberals-but-gender-is-not-a-social-construct-n2164148?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=
Some accuse our President of leading us off the tracks and into another unnecessary social conundrum: What is gender? To be fair, he didn't create the problem. Like always, he merely exacerbated it. Now, it seems, people are afraid to use public bathrooms. They can't decide which they should, and perverts are having a field day.

Every society beginning with primitive ones, had rites of passage demarcating the distinction between childhood and adulthood. The fairest of these involved some kind of pain like circumcision. An intellectual test might have precluded some from being considered adults while giving children early entry into the ranks of the adult community. Women had it easy; the onset of the menstrual cycle generally signaled that a girl was now a woman. For guys of my generation, receiving a driver's license was it.

Two of my favorite novels have subplots that play on this theme: The Source by James Michener and The Navigator by Morris West. I recommend them highly.

Of late, America's lack of such a clear cultural ritual has always been a minor issue. But now it has come to the fore and been exacerbated by a debate over what constitutes gender. The essay linked in this discussion is a pretty good introduction to the topic. I'd love to hear your thoughts after reading it.

Sorry, Liberals, But Gender Is Not a “Social Construct”

One of the most harmful and also false ideas that liberals have introduced to American culture is the idea that gender is nothing more than a social construct. Put another way, theres no real difference between men and women; we just think there are differences because we accept illogical cultural norms that have been passed down through the years.

Response by SSG Vik Polivka made May 17 at 2016 10:55 AM

2016-05-17T10:55:26-04:00

Where did you find an old picture of me???

Response by PO2 Mark Saffell made May 17 at 2016 10:55 AM

2016-05-17T10:55:41-04:00

And no one talks about the fact this also includes locker rooms.

Response by SSG Kyle Johnson made May 17 at 2016 11:02 AM

2016-05-17T11:02:12-04:00

The problem is all the new gender "identifications" out there. I just heard about a new on the other day calls Gender fluid which is based on how you feel when you wake up in the morning...it sounds like a fucking joke to me. I am not against peoples rights or anything but I hate how our country is constantly ignoring the majority to fix a problem for a small minority that can be fixed with simply saying you have a choice whose the bathroom in which your genitals match, or use the unisex bathrooms that are available at almost every establishment.

Response by SSgt Robert Dant made May 17 at 2016 11:08 AM

2016-05-17T11:08:39-04:00

Study the rise and fall of the Roman Empirer - lost all sense of your points above. A country without some form of morale compass and vision if who it is will just flutter in the wind and soon be blown away.

If I had kids in school now they would be pulled - no way do I think a 10 year old girl be subject to taking a shower with a boy or in reverse.

Our morale compass has always separated us - now to through it all together will do more harm to those 99% versus the 1% who are confused.

My heart goes out to the confused but that does not mean I destroy the majority for the few.

Response by SGT Edward Wilcox made May 17 at 2016 11:23 AM

2016-05-17T11:23:33-04:00

No where has anyone said that gender is a social construct. The operative word that everyone leaves out is "identity". It is gender-identity that should be the topic of conversation. Actual gender has never been an issue, and with modern medical technology can be changed from one to the other, physically, at least.

This article relies on ridicule and outdated notions to make its point. Therefore, it is garbage journalism, at best. No where does it even attempt to cite a source for its conclusions. It even attempts to link transgenders with mental illness, something even the American Psychiatric Association would consider quackery.

The one culture that the article missed was the Native Americans, before the coming of the white man. They celebrated the homosexuals, both male and female, calling them "Two-Spirit" people. Not all ancient cultures stuck to the same rigid definition of gender. Neither should we.

Response by SSgt Terry P. made May 17 at 2016 11:42 AM

2016-05-17T11:42:57-04:00

CPT Jack Durish I read the essay and it only makes real sense,so the PC among us will either ignore it or try to degrade the logic or the author.
How well do you handle the 'hammer'? lol

Response by MCPO Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 1:47 PM

2016-05-17T13:47:19-04:00

The article is clearly nothing more than an opinion editorial - nothing more than a blog entry.

Much of gender _IS_ a social construct. Pink for girls, blue for boys - just 100 years ago, it was the opposite. Just 60 years ago, women were 2nd class citizens (and in many ways, still are). Have you seen the movie, "Carousel," within the last 30 years? It was very clear that giving "love hits" to a woman was good and proper - and MANLY, and that it was a woman's place to accept them without comment. Even Rosie the Riveter is hailed as a great example of a woman doing a "man's job."

Socialization teaches us how to treat and react to our fellow humans (and other critters), and gender roles are part of this. It teaches us how to dress (ewww, are you wearing THAT?), and who pays for a date. Society teaches us that a guy that sleeps with lots of women is a stud, but a woman that sleeps with lots of guys is a slut.

"Girly man" is a Neanderthal-ish dig at a male that doesn't feel that women are objects and that using female-terms to describe someone as weak, unimportant, and negative is acceptable. "Man up," "Grow a pair," "You're just a pussy," are all examples.

For YEARS, especially my time in the Army (Infantry), I was blasted for being a pussy, a homo, a girly-man, purely because I didn't like to drink until I puked so I could drink more and sleep with everything with a skirt. To be honest, it got to the point that I began to wonder about it, myself. Now, some 25 years later, with a wife and three daughters, I realize where the problem was - it was with the society and NOT with me.

Imagine, this, Jack: from tomorrow morning until the day you die, you're going to have to wear short, pink dresses with lots of lace and frills. Would you feel good? Would you feel natural? Would you feel something was wrong?
The gender debate is one step beyond that. Imagine that you looked into the mirror - Captain Jack Durish looks into the mirror - and you see full breasts and no penis. Would you feel good? Would you feel natural? Would you feel something was wrong? That's what trans-folks feel every day. They look down and the view doesn't match what they feel SHOULD be there.

And society is still telling them to shut up and accept that as their reality.
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NOW, to address your commentary:
I actually agree with many of your points. Back in my day, a Driver's License _WAS_ the mark of manhood for a guy. When my kids were of age, it was their first cell-phone. Today, there aren't any quasi-clear delineations between childhood and adulthood - hell, kids are inundated with sexualization from the time they are toddlers, and "prostitots" are seen every day as they walk into elementary schools.

To be candid, I don't know what to recommend to fix it.