Gender wars

Not sure if anyone watched Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu (so proud I can spell that) the other day. She had 3 men and 3 women in the studio - all radio DJs - debating about the very volatile subject of gender.

It seems to be so "in" to have gender stereotypes. The beer-guzzling, rugby watching male who is alienated from most feelings other than his sex drive; the I-broke-a-nail drama-queen female that spends hours in the bathroom and gets emotional just looking at Paris Hilton's ruddy dog. Don't get me wrong - men and women ARE different (and thank goodness for that - I think male and female complement each other wonderfully), and stereotypes are obviously based on some sort of real life evidence.

I too sometimes make jokes about my husband failing to put his washing in the basket, or me squealing at every little insect I see, but mostly I brag about how my husband cooks for me, does the laundry and does the shopping, while I work. And when you think about it, how many really stereotypical males and females do you know? All the men that I know don't even come close to filling the description of a typical male.

I guess stereotypes come along when all the things that might be typical of many different men or women is put together, so you end up with one picture of a typical male/female. In real life one man or woman probably only exhibits one or two of the typical male/female attributes.

But maybe this is why there is so much misunderstanding between males and females. Instead of trying to understand each other we just assume (when you assume u make an ass out of u and me!) that all the stereotypes are correct. I was surprised to see how the women in 3 Talk were hurling accusations at the men - they were just on the attack. "All men lie" the one female DJ said. Gee man, don't we all lie sometimes? The poor men had to scramble to try and defend themselves.

As a woman I sometimes feel ashamed at the way power has gone to some women's heads. Put the wrong kind of woman in power and she becomes a nightmare - a self-righteous, arrogant witch. Why do some women, when they get into power, seem to loose all those things that make them approachable, humble and attractive?

I love being vulnerable in front of my husband. I love being protected when a big scary insect flies into the room. Deep down, don't all women want that (this is the ONE stereotype I will allow myself!)?? This doesn't mean that I am weak. My husband and I understand each other. We respect our many differences and celebrate them. We complement each other wonderfully. I think this is the way that God intended it. Not for men to be better or above women (the world's patriarchal history could be the cause of women's attitude [my perception] towards men), but for men and women to be partners, equals, side-by-side, completing each other.