Sexism and Gender Roles

Earlier tonight, I watched NBC's new show, The Marriage Ref. I first saw the show last Sunday - when NBC brilliantly decided to interrupt the Olympic's Closing Ceremony to premiere an early episode - and it was surprisingly entertaining. There's something very intriguing about watching other people's relationship problems. Tonight's episode introduced a couple where the wife thought her husband should automatically know how to build a patio simply because he's a man. Surprisingly, Eva Longoria, one of the celebrity panel members, agreed with the wife. The husband argued that was ridiculous and that his wife was being sexist. If she expected him to just be good at manual labor because he was a man, then he expected her to serve him whenever he demanded. After all, that has been the "traditional" role of a woman.

This really got me thinking whether "traditional" gender roles and assumptions are as prevalent today as they were in past generations. Personally, I view the “proper” relationships of men and women as understanding that each gender has certain strengths, and that only by coming together can society be truly effective. For example, men are viewed as being more logical, while women are viewed as being more compassionate. Therefore, coming together ensures that multiple outlooks are used, as opposed to just one. This is not to say that men are incapable of feeling compassion, or women incapable of being logical. Not at all. I simply believe men and women are pieces of a puzzle, and only by equally coming together can the picture be complete.

I was raised in a family where both my father and mother were strong presences. My father was more of a traditional Mexican male, and from him I learned strength. Not physical strength, but the strength to be confident, stand up for oneself, and succeed in life. He taught this lesson to my younger siblings, but I believe he placed emphasis on me learning this. He expected my sisters to be strong for themselves, but he expected me to be strong not only for myself, but also for my sisters, mother and future family. To him, men are the protectors.

My mother, although also Mexican, had the outlook of perhaps more of a modern American woman; but combined it with an understanding of our Mexican heritage. She also placed emphasis on me being a strong presence for my sisters and future family, but instilled in me the importance of treating the women in my life with the upmost respect. It is perhaps more so from her that I learned the relationship between a man and a woman should be an equal partnership. The one thing that both parents taught me is that no matter what views people may hold, it is up to me to buy into them or be myself.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I agree with the husband. He shouldn't magically know how to install a patio simply because he's a man. That's ridiculous. That's like saying I'm magically amazing at soccer, simply because I'm Mexican.

Ridiculous.

Happy Birthday Little Sis!

19 years ago today, my reign as an only child ended when a baby girl was born into the family. From the first moment I saw her, I loved her with all my heart, and although she's a pain in my ass most of the time, my love for her hasn't changed.


I don't care how old you get, you'll always be my baby sis. Happy Birthday, J.

Family Crest

I've joked around about doing this before, but I think now I've finally decided that I'm going to design a family crest. There really is no need for me to design one, but I think having a family crest would be rather awesome.

There are really three reasons that have lead up to me wanting to design one.

#1: As a huge comic book fan, I love superhero symbols; Superman's "S Shield", Batman's "Bat-Symbol", etc. I love the iconography and childhood wonder they represent. There's no reason a family crest couldn't do the same, right?


#2: A friend of mine has his family's crest tattooed on his forearm, and I have to admit that I'm a little jealous over the fact that his family has one. I don't handle jealously well.

#3: Recent Superman mythos have revealed that Superman's "S Shield" is in fact the family crest of the House of El, and that are many other Kryptonian crests.

That last point was what really sold it for me, "You mean I can have a family crest AND have it be like a superhero symbol?!" You don't need to tell me twice.

Thus, I am on my quest to find a family crest; and I'm serious about it. I have a lot of research to do on my family history, but I'm confident it'll end with me designing a great crest.

However, whether or not anyone else in my family adopts it, or if it lives on beyond my death, is a whole other story.

Feeling Old, Part II

The fact that there has to be a Part II to last night's entry is just plain sad, but two more incidents happened today that were the final nails in the coffin of me feeling old.

The first occurred immediately when I woke up this morning; my body was sore. Now, it wasn't me being sore that made me feel old, it was the fact that I had no idea why I was sore. I get sore all the time, but I know it's because I did some sort of physical activity the day before; maybe I ran or spent the entire night tearing it up on the dance floor. Today I woke up and could not think of a single reason why I should be sore. Isn't that what happens when you get old? Doesn't your body hurt for no reason? I spent half the day trying to think of why I'd be sore... with no success. This was it; I truly was turning into an old man. Luckily, my sister came to my rescue and reminded me that I went bowling last night. Eureka! My soreness had its cause. Still, being sore because of bowling doesn't make me feel much better, and not being able to remember going bowling only the night before makes me feel like my memory is fading.

However, that wasn't the worse deciding factor today. The thing that really made me feel old, but in a sort of good, nostalgic way, was when I played Disc 1 of Season 4 of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon for my little sister. She had never seen watched it, so I thought it'd be good if I schooled her a bit in classic cartoons. We didn't even get through a full episode before she thought it was ridiculous. Even the opening theme song sounded old to her. I looked at her and couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she thought a cartoon I used to worship as a kid was now a relic. I have to admit, that cartoon has not held up kindly to the tests of time. As I watched the jumpy animation and heard the dated slang being spoken, I saw my childhood float away on the television screen.

It's official: I'm getting old.