Something I did not think about
I've always considered myself fairly open minded, and I thought this was especially true when it came to women. I've always believed in the equality of women (though the TRUE equality, meaning women should register for the draft like guys), but today in one of my literature classes we were discussing Tess and a subject came up that made me feel very chauvinistic.
I've always had this thing for female virginity. Guys I don't feel the same way about, I guess its because of the fact that there are no real social ... umm what's the word I'm looking for... reprocussions if a guy runs around sleeping with lots of girls, yet if a girl runs around and does the same thing, she's a slut. Today I realised that my gut feelings that girls should wait to be with the one right guy (not nessicarily in marriage) is actually very chauvinistic. I've never once thought that a guy should wait for a girl, but I've held women to a different standard? The thoght of that didn't make me particularly happy. Here I am saying that I believe in true equality, but I've been holding the two sexes to different standards when it came to sex.
It could be because women go through an actual physical change (loss of hymen) and guys don't. I'm not sure what the root of my thinking was, but I really need to work on it. Really, as a guy, I shouldn't be worrying too much about it and I should just be happy that I'm having sex at all, but then I wouldn't be me. I tend to overanalize things sometimes.
Case and point... if I had 2 children, a boy and a girl, I know exactly how I would handle the topic of pregnancy with the boy. Exactly the same way that my father handled the subject with me. "If you are mature enough to get a girl pregnant, then you obviously think you are mature enough to be on your own." Translated, if I got a girl pregnant, I could kiss any sort of support from my family goodbye, so I damn better well not get a girl pregnant.
However, wouldn't I be morally wrong to do that to my theoretical daughter? The guy could have gotten her pregnant and run off, or worse, what if it was the child of rape or something that the father would absolutely not be a part of the picture (I'm ignoring the whole keep the baby or not, just pretend we keep it for the sake of the arguement), would I then cast my daughter out on the street? See that's holding men and women to different standards.
I need to do some more moral searching on this issue.
I've always had this thing for female virginity. Guys I don't feel the same way about, I guess its because of the fact that there are no real social ... umm what's the word I'm looking for... reprocussions if a guy runs around sleeping with lots of girls, yet if a girl runs around and does the same thing, she's a slut. Today I realised that my gut feelings that girls should wait to be with the one right guy (not nessicarily in marriage) is actually very chauvinistic. I've never once thought that a guy should wait for a girl, but I've held women to a different standard? The thoght of that didn't make me particularly happy. Here I am saying that I believe in true equality, but I've been holding the two sexes to different standards when it came to sex.
It could be because women go through an actual physical change (loss of hymen) and guys don't. I'm not sure what the root of my thinking was, but I really need to work on it. Really, as a guy, I shouldn't be worrying too much about it and I should just be happy that I'm having sex at all, but then I wouldn't be me. I tend to overanalize things sometimes.
Case and point... if I had 2 children, a boy and a girl, I know exactly how I would handle the topic of pregnancy with the boy. Exactly the same way that my father handled the subject with me. "If you are mature enough to get a girl pregnant, then you obviously think you are mature enough to be on your own." Translated, if I got a girl pregnant, I could kiss any sort of support from my family goodbye, so I damn better well not get a girl pregnant.
However, wouldn't I be morally wrong to do that to my theoretical daughter? The guy could have gotten her pregnant and run off, or worse, what if it was the child of rape or something that the father would absolutely not be a part of the picture (I'm ignoring the whole keep the baby or not, just pretend we keep it for the sake of the arguement), would I then cast my daughter out on the street? See that's holding men and women to different standards.
I need to do some more moral searching on this issue.