"It's A woMAN's World"

        In the society that we live in, men have been looked upon as the dominant gender. Some say that men are in power and some say that they have the advantage in the world when compared to women. Depending on your perspective all these things may be true. I personally feel like the biggest way to truly get to the point where men and women are treated equally is to stop comparing them, stop stereotyping, and look more closely at the similarities we have with each other. When we were growing up, society was always pushing its gender roles at us like it was the only way to live. For example, "The act like a man box", which is described by Paul Kivel as the mental "box" that men grow up trying to fit into so they can be looked upon as what society views is a real man. When a boy steps outside of the box he usually will get a negative reaction from people for being out of the norm set up for men. Women also go through this same problem.

          Being told how to act and think because of your gender is taking away from a freedom you were born with. A freedom you are blessed to have as a human being that helps you grow and prosper, your free will. In result it leads to one gender thinking they are more superior to the other. It also makes both genders focus on how different they are and it makes us tend to not see how much we are the same. I feel men and women do and are capable of doing the same things but maybe just in a different way. We can't live without each other, and last time I checked I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for a woman being in the dominant position for 9 months to give me life. So I know her job on earth is more than to just serve men. Our society can make men and women look at each other as just two different forms of life with totally separate roles, standards, and individual value. I personally feel like we are two different forms of life but we come together to make each other whole. We are equal because we both need each other and every great thing needs balance. 

         If we viewed each other more equally then certain actions people do wouldn't be labeled feminine or masculine. Men wouldn't be called gay for doing something mostly women do. And vice versa. One thing I hate is how people say women belong in the kitchen when I’m the type of man that loves to cook. It doesn’t mean I want to be a women, I just like good food and like to know exactly what’s on my plate. Plus I know a woman likes to eat a meal her man cooked just as much as a man likes to eat a meal his women cooked. The Mythopoetic movement really caught my eye in class because they focus more on men growing not only emotionally but spiritually. When fighting oppression, especially oppression on women in "A Man’s World", open-mindedness is very necessary and I feel that can be achieved if you can deepen men's spirituality and try to expand people's mind. Stopping oppression can't be done by voting or signing a bill. It’s like the world itself, the only way to change it, is by changing the mind of its people which will ultimately change their decisions and actions. We all have to be the change if we want to stop oppression, if we want to be viewed as equals, and if we want to live in society together equally. Men who oppress women just oppress other men because they push men back into that "box" without even recognizing it. We must first change our minds, and then change how we live. Our perception, not what society wants to make us perceive, is reality. So let’s start creating the reality we want to live.

       I wouldn’t call myself a feminist because I may not agree with everything they say and by calling myself a feminist I feel like I’m just throwing myself into another box. I am just me and that’s all I can be, and that perception itself could be the start to solving some of the problems we are facing now.

- Kivel, P. (2007) The act like a man box. In M. Messner (Ed.), Men's Lives, 7th ed. (pp. 148-150). Cranbury, NJ: Pearsons/Allyn & Bacon. 

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