Dude This is so Gay

This is a topic that frustrates me to no end. So often I hear people, especially teenage boys, refer to things as gay. I can't count how many times I have been walking through the hallways of my high school and heard "Ugh man that test was so gay" or "God these shorts are so gay, I hate them". Really? Was that test you just took a man who is physically attracted to men? Do your shorts want to be in a relationship with someone of the same sex? No? Well then stop calling them gay! I honestly find it utterly baffling why things are even described as gay. Unless you are describing the sexual orientation of someone who is actually gay there is no need to ever use the word in casual conversation.

Really the only thing the mutilation of the word gay shows is how engrained homophobia is in modern society. People calls things gay in a negative way, as if the worst insult you could give someone or something would be to say they like people of the same sex. To use a phrase that describes an unchangeable trait a person has no choice in inhabiting as a derogatory insult, is terribly upsetting. Especially when people who belong to the LGBTQIAP community use the term themselves to degrade or downplay someone of something. They are literally using a word that describes their own people to inflict pain or discomfort. How are they ever supposed to accept themselves if our language refuses to accept them? What an uncomfortable environment to exist in; to know that at any point someone, even someone you thought identified with you, could hurl a term across the room that simultaneously pinpoints a key part of your being and tears it to shreds.

Hopefully, with a little effort, we can move towards ending the awful misuse of the word gay. We can all do something small and stop the proliferation of the term in tracks by letting people know when they have used it derogatorily or incorrectly. Yes, you might get some frustrated looks. But is that really such a hard price to pay for a better, more accepting future?  

Meninism is For Real

Recently, a new, and incredibly stupid, social movement has cropped up all over the Internet. These new marauders of social justice are fighting for the obviously “lacking” rights of men, and they call themselves meninists. I’m not sure what exactly has sparked this development, but perhaps it is because there has been a greater push in the last couple of years to break down the stereotypes surrounding female behavior. It is becoming more “socially acceptable” to be a feminist, or at least more people in the public eye are coming out of the closet, so to speak, and labeling themselves as feminists. Obviously this is a problem for any self respecting man, because clearly in order for a woman to be secure in herself and self reliant would mean she will have to stop believing that men are superior, and we just can’t have that now can we? It is simply unacceptable to allow a woman to see herself as anything more than an object for men to posses. These meninists have therefore selflessly taken it into their own hands to cure these blasted women of the silly idea that they can be their own person.

I promise I’m not actively trying to attack the idea of meninism, but it is hard because the whole concept is just so horribly mistaken. These men, and women too I suppose, although I have yet to see a woman supporting meninism, have taken the idea of feminism and mutilated what it actually stands for. A feminist is someone who believes in the complete and utter equality of all genders, that includes trans and non binary persons as well. People who believe in feminism are not trying to strip men of their rights or force a matriarchy on society, as I have seen some feminist haters argue. They are simply striving for equal opportunity for everyone and seek to break down the negative stereotypes surrounding femininity that hurt both men and women alike. What it boils down to, is that meninism is for people who honestly just don’t know what feminism really is and have not made the effort to become informed.  

For anyone interested in learning more about the need for and power of feminism, I encourage you to watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk “We should all be feminists”. I promise it is worth the 30 minutes. But don’t read the comments, they may make you want to hit something out of sheer frustration.