Double Standard
At about 5 or 6 years old, I remember running behind my mom after hitting my younger brother. He swung at me and she caught his fist. “Stop that Chippy. Don’t hit your sister. Boys aren’t supposed to hit girls.”
Although it didn’t dawn on me at the time, or for most of my childhood, I later came to realize that it was perfectly fine for girls to hit their male counterparts without it being frowned upon. This newfound privilege filled me with a sense of power and authority. I was only a year older than my brother was so it never really held weight when I tried to tell him what to do. Hitting him was the only thing that seemed to work. I would hit him whenever I wanted to, backing up my actions with, “I’m …show more content…
Stronger didn’t mean invincible. It also didn’t mean higher tolerance. Hearing so many people scream about gender equality while continuing to support this sexist ideology often sounded hypocritical and upsetting to me. If it wasn’t okay to hit a woman because it hurt her, then why was it okay to hit a man in hopes of the same results? I’ll never understand this.
Until recently, I have always kept quiet about my opinion. Mostly because it was never received nicely that being a girl myself, I didn’t believe what the majority of other girls believed. They would always ask, “So it’s okay for your boyfriend to beat you up?” This however, is not and will never be what I meant. I simply believe that no one should hit anyone unless it’s in a case of self-defense. I do not think men should be allowed to hit women. I believe that men should be allowed to hit women back.
As a result of my personal experiences and this realization, I now proudly voice my opinion. I strongly believe people should be treated as they treat others and everyone should be held accountable for their actions no matter what they identify as. I just hope that in college things will be the same way. An environment offering equality for
At about 5 or 6 years old, I remember running behind my mom after hitting my younger brother. He swung at me and she caught his fist. “Stop that Chippy. Don’t hit your sister. Boys aren’t supposed to hit girls.”
Although it didn’t dawn on me at the time, or for most of my childhood, I later came to realize that it was perfectly fine for girls to hit their male counterparts without it being frowned upon. This newfound privilege filled me with a sense of power and authority. I was only a year older than my brother was so it never really held weight when I tried to tell him what to do. Hitting him was the only thing that seemed to work. I would hit him whenever I wanted to, backing up my actions with, “I’m …show more content…
Stronger didn’t mean invincible. It also didn’t mean higher tolerance. Hearing so many people scream about gender equality while continuing to support this sexist ideology often sounded hypocritical and upsetting to me. If it wasn’t okay to hit a woman because it hurt her, then why was it okay to hit a man in hopes of the same results? I’ll never understand this.
Until recently, I have always kept quiet about my opinion. Mostly because it was never received nicely that being a girl myself, I didn’t believe what the majority of other girls believed. They would always ask, “So it’s okay for your boyfriend to beat you up?” This however, is not and will never be what I meant. I simply believe that no one should hit anyone unless it’s in a case of self-defense. I do not think men should be allowed to hit women. I believe that men should be allowed to hit women back.
As a result of my personal experiences and this realization, I now proudly voice my opinion. I strongly believe people should be treated as they treat others and everyone should be held accountable for their actions no matter what they identify as. I just hope that in college things will be the same way. An environment offering equality for