Men and Women

Men and Women...
Women and Men...

Two things happened last week that make me feel like perhaps we haven't come as far as I'd like to think, baby.

(You know the saying, "We've come along way baby!" or something like that...)

My roommate volunteered to help my parents lay tile in their house, which I thought was awesome! My parents were eager for the help, but whenever I'd request a tool or make a suggestion that she had made--they would double check with male friends. At first I couldn't figure out their reaction. Certainly, she needed to earn their trust. She is a virtual stranger to them. But there's this tiny little part of me that wonders if the fact that she is woman didn't have a little bit to do with the lack of trust. I don't think it was on purpose... but there's a little part of me that wonders.

Second example:

My mother has her masters in education and spends her days advising education students. In other words, she is an expert in education. My roommate is finishing her high school diploma. She's taken college classes here and there for years, but she never finished high school. No biggie. Lots of homeschooled kids don't finish. My mom sat and talked with her about her goals and advised her to just take her GED and get it over with. Done and done. No biggie. No need to take all the classes required to finish the diploma. She already nearly has her Associates degree. Big whoop.

A few days later, I saw her working on her classes. I asked her if she was preparing for her GED. She said no. She told me that her boyfriend had told her that it would be better to get her Diploma.

Her boy friend.

Ugggh!!!

For the LOVE!!!

I understand that we all need to prove ourselves in this world, but am I wrong in believing that women are under far more pressure to prove themselves than our male counterparts? My mother has her masters in education. Her boyfriend has no added knowledge about the educational system. But somehow his opinion matters more.

I don't get it.

Another male/female tangent:

My friend Gabe and I were discussing music, religion, logic, atheism, spirtuality--etc... last night.

After approaching these grand topics from very different vantages, I said that the thing I loved about music was that it combined the male virtues of logic and order, (time, notes, tempo, theory) with the female ideals of passion, dynamics and emotion.

He liked that.

We were discussing religion, and he was suggesting that you can't prove God exists. I told him that I hated that our society places more value on tangible and quantifiable objects-- but we ignore the veracity of immeasurable items like love, inspiration, and connection.

He liked that too.

We both agreed that the differences between men and women and the different views we share make the world a better place.

I love our differences, but I do not enjoy needing to prove myself to anyone. Man or woman.

Question: Are women or men the biggest enemy to true equality for women?