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Like most of you I’m a firm believer in equality. A person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion and physicality shouldn’t prohibit them from being treated equally by law and society.
Because of the nature of my work, I am often plagued by the reality of gender discrimination and thus I identify as a feminist: I.e. a person who advocates and supports equal rights for men and women.
But just because I believe we should be treated equally, doesn’t mean I think we are the same.
Basic biology and years and years of oppression have conspired to litter our lives with small delights and small horrors, that most men (note, I say most) would never even wonder about, let alone encounter.
Here are a few examples of these female “secrets” in no particular order…
• The extreme relief and delight one feels when taking off your bra at the end of the day.
• The toe-curling horror when sitting down on a wet toilet seat.
• The ridiculous sense of artistic pride when painting your nails without smudging them.
• The sheer terror of realising you’re alone in a parking lot.
• The smug victory when a pair of heels allows you to tower over a bully.
• The red-faced shame when you trip over said heels.
• That you have to have different shaped panties for different garments lest you get a case of VPL.
• The fact that you know that VPL stands for Visible Panty Line.
• G-strings that creep up your butt when you’re avoiding VPL.
• The annoyance that is women’s clothing in general – it’s almost impossible to fold or hang!
• The “oh my God I’m beautiful” feeling when one of these annoying items of clothing fits, suits and flatters.
• Suddenly having NOTHING to wear.
• Starting your period unexpectedly and in a state of unpreparedness (this can be a curse – as in “I’m not pregnant” or a blessing as in “I’m not pregnant!”
• Getting to eat away your PMS.
• Not being able to pee next to the side of the road without showing all passing motorists your bottom.
• The absolute bliss when you finally get to that restroom after a long journey.
• Trying to wriggle yourself into skinny jeans after you’ve been to the gym. Wet skin + tight jeans = Most Frustrating Thing Ever.
There are many more of course, and we’d love to hear yours. Perhaps we can even get the men in our lives to share their intrinsically male victories and dilemmas?
Maybe if we got to understand each other a bit better and cultivate a bit more sympathy for our differences we can end this silly war between the sexes. Because even if we win, we lose.
Follow Lili on Twitter
Because of the nature of my work, I am often plagued by the reality of gender discrimination and thus I identify as a feminist: I.e. a person who advocates and supports equal rights for men and women.
But just because I believe we should be treated equally, doesn’t mean I think we are the same.
Basic biology and years and years of oppression have conspired to litter our lives with small delights and small horrors, that most men (note, I say most) would never even wonder about, let alone encounter.
Here are a few examples of these female “secrets” in no particular order…
• The extreme relief and delight one feels when taking off your bra at the end of the day.
• The toe-curling horror when sitting down on a wet toilet seat.
• The ridiculous sense of artistic pride when painting your nails without smudging them.
• The sheer terror of realising you’re alone in a parking lot.
• The smug victory when a pair of heels allows you to tower over a bully.
• The red-faced shame when you trip over said heels.
• That you have to have different shaped panties for different garments lest you get a case of VPL.
• The fact that you know that VPL stands for Visible Panty Line.
• G-strings that creep up your butt when you’re avoiding VPL.
• The annoyance that is women’s clothing in general – it’s almost impossible to fold or hang!
• The “oh my God I’m beautiful” feeling when one of these annoying items of clothing fits, suits and flatters.
• Suddenly having NOTHING to wear.
• Starting your period unexpectedly and in a state of unpreparedness (this can be a curse – as in “I’m not pregnant” or a blessing as in “I’m not pregnant!”
• Getting to eat away your PMS.
• Not being able to pee next to the side of the road without showing all passing motorists your bottom.
• The absolute bliss when you finally get to that restroom after a long journey.
• Trying to wriggle yourself into skinny jeans after you’ve been to the gym. Wet skin + tight jeans = Most Frustrating Thing Ever.
There are many more of course, and we’d love to hear yours. Perhaps we can even get the men in our lives to share their intrinsically male victories and dilemmas?
Maybe if we got to understand each other a bit better and cultivate a bit more sympathy for our differences we can end this silly war between the sexes. Because even if we win, we lose.
Follow Lili on Twitter
