I have nothing against masculine men. But if any gender stereotypes annoyed me, a male, the most, it's the idea that if you do not follow a standard set of unwritten rules, you aren't "manly enough" and deserve to be degraded because of it. For example, if you do not show enough strength in a situation that requires your physicality, do not confront a situation that requires your bravery, or do not succeed at showing little to no emotion in a situation that you're most vulnerable to, you are a "sissy". And speaking of which, that's another thing: if you don't dress a certain way that appeals to the "manly" stereotype and even remotely dress in a "feminine" or rather, flamboyant or gender neutral manner, it's not only the opposite of masculinity, it, again, makes you a "sissy" or it indicates that you are gay. Because despite growing up in a Western society that has developed a slightly more progressive attitude toward women and the queer community, not only does your appearance and behavior best indicate your gender identity and/or sexual orientation, it's a completely context message that being compared to women or homosexuals is a negative comparison, while being the complete opposite when it's vice versa; an even more context message that heterosexual men who act in line with their respective gender and sexual role are the supreme species of all kind. Let's not even get started on the multitude of other stereotypes specifically associated with men: an older man who shows affection or generosity towards a child is automatically associated to pedophilic behavior; men must specifically act mannerly to women and if they don't, you're not a "gentleman" and it's not demanded that you act mannerly toward everyone--including, well, men; instead of verbal and physical abuse toward anyone being portrayed negatively in general, it's commonly celebrated for a woman to violently stand up to men who act antagonistic, however, it's monstrous if it's exchanged the other way around; alongside the previous complaint and in line with the degradation of women, if you are intimidated or verbally, physically, and even sexually assaulted by a woman, it's--in return--a degradation of your gender and an embarrassment to your overall reputation that recommends the idea that it shouldn't be publicly or personally acknowledged, let alone mentioned or reported. Fuck gender roles. All of them. I don't care for them whatsoever and they're only destructive to society. I'm most certainly not undermining women's issues regarding "feminine" stereotypes and am altogether against gender stereotypes in general, however, I'm simply confirming that men too are confronted by social stigma when it comes to their gender and what does and doesn't properly replicate it. I could've went into much broader detail and to be honest, this is a very half-assed opinion of the issue, but it's nevertheless an opinion that I felt I needed put out there. As a homosexual male living in a conservative household in one of the most conservative states in the U.S., it's an issue I have to face more often than I used to now that I'm older. I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me--let alone read anything I just said--and I don't expect the stereotypes to be publicly confronted anytime soon, I just wanted to put it out there that, girls, if I have to experience these kinds of things that are minor compared to your struggles, I couldn't be anymore of a feminist if I tried because you're all braver than anyone I know and you deserve... or rather, NEED equal treatment. But just remember that there are some of us that realize that feminism is also important to us too and that misogyny plays a part in our lives as well. And most importantly, men don't have it as easy as it's widely believed to be, it can come off as a first world problem, but men are held up to expectations that can cause them physical or emotional harm when not reached.
