Feminism and Boys
You know, we think of Feminism as a political movement that has been to the benefit of girls and women (unless you're a Rightwinger, in which case you think of Feminism as the Devil's Work) but it has also, I think, freed up boys and men to be individuals.
I mean, the workplace is fraught, still, with sexism, but it has changed so much in just a couple of decades that it's only a matter of time before men feel empowered to embrace their priorities (note the Oprahesque language "empowered", "embrace") and seek meaning in their lives beyond the workplace - just as women have always done - generally speaking, of course - very generally speaking.
Because I wonder, sometimes, if the corporate ceiling is really something women can't break through or if it's just that they don't. I mean, let's face it. Women have different priorities at different ages and living with the facts of life as a woman is much more difficult, physically, than it is for a man. Biologically speaking, life is harder for women and maybe that's why we live longer than men - we're tougher by the end of it - but we've had to prioritize more and maybe, just maybe, the corporate world doesn't cut it at the age when it's there for the taking by men of the same age, too.
Think of all those studies that have been done on girls and boys entering puberty that indicate girls lose their confidence right then and there, while boys are as gung ho as ever. Well, maybe that's just another biological reality at play that means real life happens sooner and harder for girls than it does for boys and that, by nature, we have to prioritize sooner and harder, too. Ask any 12 year old girl if she thinks she can grow up to be a prima ballerina and, unless she's already a prima ballerina at the National Academy of Dance, she'll say, "no". But ask a 12 year old boy who doesn't even play hockey yet if he thinks he can be an NHL superstar and he'll look off into imaginationland and picture himself scoring the winning Stanley Cup goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs and say, "awesome... are you going to eat that?".
But there's still no denying that girls today - once again, speaking very generally - are doing what they want - you go grrl! - and not in any way feeling held back by sexism.
Well, I think that extends to boys, too. Boys today are doing what they want, as well - and not feeling like they can't because they're boys. And I predict that there will be quite a levelling out at the corporate level because boys today are much less likely to want to be suits than were even men of my age - many of whom, by the way, still think they can be rock superstars, although they've most of them given up on the NHL dream and are living it through their sons.
And because somebody has to be a suit, or, or, well now - wouldn't that be a nice social evolution brought to you by Feminism, eh? If there were no corporate suits for tomorrow because the kids of today, girls AND boys, decided to have some meaning in their lives and went off to save the whales and bring world peace instead.
