Women and men - equality discussion
I have been enjoying my college English course. It has been very varied, and one of the things we will be assessed on will be our discussion skills. Last week we practised a discussion on the Women and Men Equality topic.
We talked about the role of mothers, of wives, of fathers and of husbands. During our discussion, I said two things that got got our teacher shocked, she could not understand what I was talking about - and I am not referring to the language barrier.
The first thing was about differences in men and women. We talked about things we can do as women, and the teacher questioned if there are things men do that we can't do. My response was: "I believe that women are capable of doing whatever they set their minds to, even hard physical work. But in spite of that, I am very grateful that I can turn to for help when it comes to heavy lifting". The teacher was shocked! She asked if I didn't think I could get to do the same work as men. I said I could but to me it's very tiering, and that I was grateful for the men at work who can help me with the heavy lifting. I told her of how glad I was when we moved that my husband had some of his friends over and they moved the furniture. I was thankful at work when there would be a tray of 20 2L bottles to lift and I could get a man to come help with it. My teacher could not agree! I personally believe that men in general have better endurance and greater strength to do the hard work. I do not feel inequality when I think about that. we are just built different! But I refuse to put my own health at risk just because I want to prove to others that I am strong and I can do the work men do! It got me wondering how far to we take this whole equality thing? Do we begin to ignore our own capabilities just to prove how "manly" we can be? Why don't we strengthen our qualities of organizing, decorating, nurturing, loving, caring, being positive, keep going when everything is against us? Women are amazing! We have a strength of character and a capacity to love and nurture that is unique to us, to women! I am not saying that men are not capable of doing this, but I believe it's at a different level, just as we are with physical effort. And why is that wrong? Aren't we meant to complement each other? If women try hard to be like men, where is the joy in a woman being a partner with a man? And then we run around wondering why are there so many gay couples, when there is no more difference between men and women! (it might sound offensive to some, but it's not meant that way). What I am trying to say is that there are consequences to all these changes, because I believe these are not natural changes. Women are not forced (well, not in general, of course there are always exceptions) to do physical labour for a living! We are not forced to compete with men, but we choose to. why? Because society talks about all this 'equality' which was good initially, but has been taken to extremes.
The second thing I said since I only work up to 30 hours a week, while my husband works for 50-56 hours a week, it feels normal that I should cook more than him, clean the house more than him, do more laundry than him. The teacher was ready to rip my head off! She made a point that all of the great chefs in the world are male, that some of the greatest clothes designers are men! I did not really see how that related to what I had said. She said that I had just as much a right not to take care of the home just like my husband. I was shocked! Then where is the partnership? My husband works hard to make ends meet financially. He comes home tired, but I do have to give him credit for washing the dishes after we have dinner. He does help cleaning the house. I am not saying that men are exempt from house work just because they work more, but I do not believe that as women we are exempt for keeping our house organized just because we have the same rights as men. When has it become a crime to say 'I feel it's normal for me to clean more than my husband and cook more than he does because I have a lot more free time'? Or should I just watch TV all day long and play computer games just because I can? Am I losing my identity as a woman? I am proud of being a woman! I am proud of my qualities, my skills, and my identity! Why is society teaching us that this is wrong? I believe we can all feel inside us who we truly are and what our calling is, but the more we listen to the world, the more this voice inside gets silenced. Then we wake up one day unhappy with who we have become, with what we have accomplished, and we won't know how to fill the void.
I believe equality means treating each other with respect, accepting our differences and build on them. I believe than nobody is less of a person because they might be different. Being different, having different duties, makes us who we are. And each of us is wonderful, each of us is amazing! So don't go changing just because the world is telling you to. Listen to who you are, and dare to become better, wiser, happier.
We talked about the role of mothers, of wives, of fathers and of husbands. During our discussion, I said two things that got got our teacher shocked, she could not understand what I was talking about - and I am not referring to the language barrier.
The first thing was about differences in men and women. We talked about things we can do as women, and the teacher questioned if there are things men do that we can't do. My response was: "I believe that women are capable of doing whatever they set their minds to, even hard physical work. But in spite of that, I am very grateful that I can turn to for help when it comes to heavy lifting". The teacher was shocked! She asked if I didn't think I could get to do the same work as men. I said I could but to me it's very tiering, and that I was grateful for the men at work who can help me with the heavy lifting. I told her of how glad I was when we moved that my husband had some of his friends over and they moved the furniture. I was thankful at work when there would be a tray of 20 2L bottles to lift and I could get a man to come help with it. My teacher could not agree! I personally believe that men in general have better endurance and greater strength to do the hard work. I do not feel inequality when I think about that. we are just built different! But I refuse to put my own health at risk just because I want to prove to others that I am strong and I can do the work men do! It got me wondering how far to we take this whole equality thing? Do we begin to ignore our own capabilities just to prove how "manly" we can be? Why don't we strengthen our qualities of organizing, decorating, nurturing, loving, caring, being positive, keep going when everything is against us? Women are amazing! We have a strength of character and a capacity to love and nurture that is unique to us, to women! I am not saying that men are not capable of doing this, but I believe it's at a different level, just as we are with physical effort. And why is that wrong? Aren't we meant to complement each other? If women try hard to be like men, where is the joy in a woman being a partner with a man? And then we run around wondering why are there so many gay couples, when there is no more difference between men and women! (it might sound offensive to some, but it's not meant that way). What I am trying to say is that there are consequences to all these changes, because I believe these are not natural changes. Women are not forced (well, not in general, of course there are always exceptions) to do physical labour for a living! We are not forced to compete with men, but we choose to. why? Because society talks about all this 'equality' which was good initially, but has been taken to extremes.
The second thing I said since I only work up to 30 hours a week, while my husband works for 50-56 hours a week, it feels normal that I should cook more than him, clean the house more than him, do more laundry than him. The teacher was ready to rip my head off! She made a point that all of the great chefs in the world are male, that some of the greatest clothes designers are men! I did not really see how that related to what I had said. She said that I had just as much a right not to take care of the home just like my husband. I was shocked! Then where is the partnership? My husband works hard to make ends meet financially. He comes home tired, but I do have to give him credit for washing the dishes after we have dinner. He does help cleaning the house. I am not saying that men are exempt from house work just because they work more, but I do not believe that as women we are exempt for keeping our house organized just because we have the same rights as men. When has it become a crime to say 'I feel it's normal for me to clean more than my husband and cook more than he does because I have a lot more free time'? Or should I just watch TV all day long and play computer games just because I can? Am I losing my identity as a woman? I am proud of being a woman! I am proud of my qualities, my skills, and my identity! Why is society teaching us that this is wrong? I believe we can all feel inside us who we truly are and what our calling is, but the more we listen to the world, the more this voice inside gets silenced. Then we wake up one day unhappy with who we have become, with what we have accomplished, and we won't know how to fill the void.
I believe equality means treating each other with respect, accepting our differences and build on them. I believe than nobody is less of a person because they might be different. Being different, having different duties, makes us who we are. And each of us is wonderful, each of us is amazing! So don't go changing just because the world is telling you to. Listen to who you are, and dare to become better, wiser, happier.
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