Recently, I was overwhelmed with the thought that guys in today's society can be likened to pigs. Before you think I am harsh and unnecessarily rude, I should say that I work at a fast food place and come across the type of men who fit this description to a "T."
I don't care to think this way about men in general, and of late, I have been thinking this only of the men who frequent fast food stores such as my place of employment.
In a recent bout of disgust for the behavior of the male gender at my work place, I vented to a co-worker, saying "Why do guys have to be so ungentlemanly and disgusting? Why don't they treat women with dignity and respect?! You're a guy, tell me what you think!"
His response came as a surprise. He said "I treat girls how I think they want to be treated."
I pried further..."How do you know how a girl wants to be treated?"
He said to me, "Lately I've noticed that most girls want to be treated the same as I treat guys. The last time I was at the store for instance...a woman was walking up to the door behind me, and so I opened the door for her. She sneered at me and yelled 'What do you think I am? You think I can't open the door myself?! Chauvinist!'...that made me so mad I didn't want to open the door for a girl ever again. So now I just look for how she acts, you can tell if she wants to be treated like a girl or like another guy."
I sort of thought my co-worker was exaggerating, and he then proceeded to ask the other male co-workers who were nearby what their opinions were. Every one said the same thing.
This made me feel almost sick to my stomach. Here I was, wondering why guys were so disgusting and why they had so little respect for women, and it became clear that part of the reason was because of the strong feminism movement that has told today's society "women are the same as men, don't treat them like they are weaker or special."
I was slightly encouraged when my coworkers all told me "Since meeting you, I knew you weren't like that, so I've always tried to treat you respectfully" ...and they HAVE.
I'll gladly admit it to the world and anyone who wants to know: I'm a woman, and I am weaker than and more sensitive than the average guy. I don't want to live my life in competition with the male gender. I don't care to prove that I can do everything a guy can do. I am who God made me to be. Definitely a woman. As upsetting as it is to meet a man who treats women like trash and with no respect, it is just as disgusting to me to know that there are women out there who are encouraging this behavior.
Let guys be gentlemen! Help to "train" them that it's okay to treat women respectfully and that there are some women out there who won't scream at him when he opens the door for her.
Just something I've learned recently.
6 comments:
Bravo for you! Great post! One of my favorite things to do while sitting in a car is to watch to see if guys open the doors for ladies at stores. Very seldom do they, unless, the lady is very old or dressed nice. Not only do we need to act in a way that makes the guys feel like honorable men, we also need to raise them that way too from birth on! Somewhere I read that its only about five percent of women that don't appreciate a man getting the door for them and that guys should just do it and take the risk that they don't meet that five percent!
That is very true . 5% is not much, but can be discouraging nonetheless. It can also be a lesson to me, to truly appreciate the gentlemen who ARE trying.
Great post, Virginia! I loved it!
Rachel
Good post! Thank you!
Amen, I agree wholeheartedly! What a great post, Virginia!!! When I worked at a nursing home for 2 years, 2 of my coworkers were young men. It was amazing to me how they treated me so much differently than my other female coworkers---much more gentlemanly for sure...
God bless you! Congratulations on your graduation too!!!
Thank you Cora! :)
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