January 17, 2014

Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace

Note: it has been a brutal time-consuming-spirit-crushing-soul-squashing month for me and as such we have been slug nutty (to coin a Frank Burns comment) to the point of not caring five cents of what other people think, do, or say, nor particularly caring on who I offend or why. You have been duly warned.

Happy Friday to one and all!

I have been for the most part, simply going through the motions of my day-to-day existence for the past few months. Because of that I have been pretty much on autopilot with my blogging and my lack of writing. But, since we're heading into a long holiday weekend coupled with the fact that I'm taking a vacation today has inspired me to take a crack at writing a halfway decent blog post.

So, here we go.

The other day, I happened to be reading one of my fave blogs Joey's Pad and for that particular post, he had asked the question: If you see/read something that annoys you greatly, do you speak up and say something, or do you keep quiet?

For those of you who are long time readers of my previous blog, you know the answer to this question. For those of you who aren't, the short version is that I have been known to speak up and voice my opinion on something that really bugs me.

Whether it's politics on the local scene, the national scene, crime fiction or gay marriage (to name just a few), I'm more than willing to voice my opinion and take those body shots that people throw at me for voicing my opinion. Afterwards, I'll hoist myself up by my own petard, and continuing traveling along the same road of weirdness that I've always travel on.

Anywho, the reason why he asked the question had to do with gender stereotypes, specifically pics of a boy's room and pics of a girl's room. Personally, I didn't agree with his well thought out opinion on gender stereotypes, but that's just me.

However, here's a question for everyone who has an issue with gender stereotypes. If you have a problem with gender stereotypes, would you have a problem with a country that by law enforces a gender neutral society. In other words, you aren't allowed to use the male/female pronouns nor are you allowed to correct someone who chooses to identify themselves as a gender other than what they actually are (assume for the sake of this post that we are talking about being naturally male and female, i.e. I'm a man, and if you're a female, you're a girl), and if you choose to correct or not go along with the program, you are harassed and threatened because of it (kind of like militant gay marriage advocates, eh?).

And no, I'm not making this up. This takes place in one of the Scandinavian countries although for the moment, the country's name escapes me.

To me, this is simply progressiveness/correctness run completely amok, turned upside and have its collective head driven deep into the sand like the old cliche of an ostrich sticking its head into the sand. Now, as an average person, do you speak up about something like this, or do you keep your mouth shut and live for another day?

For me, its a no-brainer. I'll offer my opinion, although it will fall on deaf ears simply because I live here in the States and this is happening overseas. But if you either live in the country in question or nearby, do you speak up, or do you stay quiet?

So even though you might have an issue with traditional gender role models, do you think this is small potatoes compared to what I just offered up that is a troubling offshoot to the non-traditional gender role models?

(c) 2014 by G.B. Miller. All Rights Reserved.

19 comments:

  1. I suspect that the Scandinavian situation to which you refer really only concerns the legal status of transgendered people, regardless of surgical status. In other words, the state will recognize someone as whatever gender they assert themselves to be, including an option for gender neutrality if that's how they identify. I see nothing wrong with this, of course, because I believe that people's self-determined fundamental gender identities should be respected. So here's another topic on which we'll just have to "agree to disagree," eh? LOL!

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  2. Debra: I actually understand that, if that was the case, but from I read (not sure what magazine I read it in), it goes above and beyond just someone being a transgendered individual into being an overall gender neutral society.

    And the article does cover the overall hostile militancy of feminists in that country.

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  3. Yes I read that some country is looking to ban gender specific pronouns for everyone. Stupid IMO

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  4. Bearman: I have to agree, it really is. I don't mind the point that Debra made up above, but banning gender specific pronouns is going way overboard.

    I mean, how are you supposed to talk to people and/or show them respect?

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  5. I'd have to hear more, but banning gender-specific pronouns? Really? That's a government priority why?

    I'd never presume to correct anyone who referred to themselves by gender. Who you are inside is who you are. But if we're talking about militants, I will take militantly pro-marriage equality people over the militantly anti-marriage equality group any day of the week, having interacted with and worked with both.

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  6. M: Apparently in that particular country, it is.

    And that is where we agree to differ. While I wouldn't take militantly anti-gay marriage by any stretch of the imagination, neither will I tolerate militant pro-gay marriage peoples calling me nasty names (i.e. homophobe) or threatening/harassing me just because I don't support gay marriage.

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  7. G.A.: Sorry 'bout that. It gives me a headache as well.

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  8. An interesting read.

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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  9. I don't have enough information to comment intelligently, and am not motivated to go looking it up, so let me comment unintelligently. I think banning gendered pronouns is taking things too far. I mean, if someone wants to introduce neutral pronouns for people, and the younger generation picks that up and runs with it, then fine. It could happen organically. But I don't think it should be forced.

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  10. Andrew: Thanks.

    S.R.: Unfortunately, a lot of things like that have been forced upon an unsuspecting public that still naively believes that the people they elect should represent them, not to be sheeples.

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  11. Gender-schmender. As long as the French say "le" and "la" and Spain "el" and la" and such, things are just fine with me. People get all miffed at practically nothing. Too much time on their hands, I think to worry about all this that don't amount to a hill of beans.

    All is good in my books.

    Now , off to see what the heck a petard is... sounds a bit ominous...

    xoox

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  12. Oh, and I'm a Total Joey Fan too, love him to death, one of my fave bloggers, like you.

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  13. Jannie: Thanks. :D

    Sadly yes, people do get miffed about nothing, in which the end result often becomes laws that legislate what you can think, do or say.

    Sort of like 1984.

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  14. I think the safest thing I can write here is thanks for the shout out and kind comments about my blog. Anything more could end in tears, probably mine, and I'm not up to arguing at the moment!

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  15. Joe: You're more than welcome for the shout out and kind comments about your blog.

    Also, it wasn't my intention to either pick a fight, start an argument or make some feel uncomfortable, and if my post has done that, I do sincerely apologize.

    I was simply pointing out what I see to be a troubling aspect of the non-traditional gender role movement (for lack of a better term).

    I think that being a devotee of either or should be accepted w/o malice or ridicule. While I do not like a few things going on my life, I do accept the inevitable and try to do my very best to integrate it into my life.

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  16. I just read that Joey post today- Work has me working all the long week-ends-
    Seems to me the issue you bring up is having the freedom to decide for yourself how to be without getting punished by the culture or society.

    Even here everyone is picked on for something- but the gender thing is as old as the country-

    To try to pretend there is no gender differences is stupid too- but what's with the punishment motivation to fit in?

    This is why some strive to be unique n damn the rules.

    I just hate being told I should believe what I don't. Spoiled rotten in this free country we are...

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  17. Yes it is like G. Orwell's 1984, which I just read again a few weeks ago! I was so depressed about the ending of that one!

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  18. Snaggle: Definitely scary to think that we're hip deep in 1984 and no one really wants to do anything about it.

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These days, the written word is to die for, so please leave a comment that shows me and everyone else the real you. All kinds of verbiage will be cheerfully accepted in the spirit it was written.