I’ve been seeing this circulate tumblr, and it’s starting to bother me because as a male feminist, I feel like it’s not about equality but about EQUITY. You can’t treat men equally the same as women, we are different beings. We have different needs, and we interact with society differently.
You can treat women equitably though. And that’s believing that they are just as capable as men to do everyday things. Like some feminists would say its degrading for a man to open a door for them just because they’re a women, and I agree. You shouldn’t open doors for women because they’re women, you should open doors for EVERYONE because it’s a polite thing to do.
Just my thoughts.
PS. That’s a horrible picture of my girlfriend, Ellen Page.
Yesterday at work, I got extremely irritated with a male customer because he was trying to be a gentleman. I was about to attempt to lift a microwave out of his cart, and his immediate reaction was to step in my way and insist on lifting it out himself, and telling me, “Oh no! Let me get that! It’s too heavy for you. You’re too small. You’ll hurt yourself. I’ll do it.”
First of all, the box was only 50lbs at the most. I’ve been able to lift 90lb bags of concrete. Granted it was only for short periods of time, but that’s really the only amount of time necessary to lift heavy objects.
And second, but certainly not least, don’t ever EVER underestimate me. That goes for anything and everything. Not just my physical capabilities, but in every sense possible.
Just because I’m short and small, does not mean I don’t have the physical capabilities to lift heavy objects. It is, after all, part of my job requirement to be able to lift up to 70lbs. If I was a man, but still just as short, would he have still insisted on assisting me? Who knows. But in the eyes of a man, because I am a woman, my physical strength is immediately underestimated.
I appreciate all gentlemanly gestures, but please do not ever underestimate my abilities to take care of myself. I open doors for people, men and women alike. I am a gentlewoman. Just like the person above me mentioned: you should do it because it’s the polite thing to do.
(Source: ohdeargodwhy, via ghostinjules)
