Death to homosexuals!

[amicus]

SlickTony]I am not sure I understand what you mean, Amicus, by "walking like a man." I myself have more than one way of walking. I'll walk one way if I am wearing tight shiny stockings and a hemline several inches above my knee--or have velvet swishing about my ankles. I walk another way when I am wearing my gi, and especially if I find myself having to walk any kind of distance by myself downtown after dark[/I].

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Slick Tony, I am quite sure you know exactly what the metaphor, 'walk like a man' was intended to convey; women who act like men.

And...you may walk any way you choose when trolling.


amicus...

 

[cantdog]

There are women that are totally freaked out about it. They're just in the minority, I think, and express themselves in different ways.

I think some folks grow up with very distinct gender roles. I've cared for children whose parents would get insane if they saw their little boy carrying a purse, even if it was full of G.I. Joes. I've also seen folks get irate if their daughter wanted to play with trucks instead of dolls or build a train instead of color a picture. In that regard, much of the reaction to boys must wear blue and girls must wear pink is a learned thing.

As for why they get irrational, my only thought process is that when folks get really passionate about things it's because something they feel is a strong identifier for them is being challenged. Hence, a man that has a seemingly irrational fear that his son might be gay is most likely a man that sees his identity defined most strongly by his gender role. EX) Some men tend to identify more with being head of household, bread winner, disciplinarian, resident ball scratcher, hunter, car fixer, lawn mower, etc... I know there are some disgusting generalizations there but just bear with me on the big picture example.

Ignorance plays a large role too because as has been said, gender role and sexual orientation are not co-dependant. So, to total it all up, I'd say that lack of knowledge and feeling that one's identity is in jeopardy are two of the largest factors. Like with blacks during the equal rights movement, the folks screaming the loudest also seemed to me to be the folks that identified strongly with their white skin - and in my opinion that kind of fear came from being challenged by someone they deemed inferior. So their superiority as a culture/race was being challenged, as they saw it.

Me? I identify the most with being a mother and a nurse. I identify very little with traditional female gender role and thus, couldn't care less what other females are doing or with whom. I never claimed to be June Cleaver and don't mind much that that particular identity is being challenged by the ever expanding number of women in the workplace. My ex-mother-in-law, on the other hand, tends to anger easily when her other daughter in law takes on new jobs or new clients to further her career. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the grandchildren from that family but because the MIL does not agree with the DIL's methods, she's made up her mind that the children have suffered and are permanently damaged.

~lucky

Well, but, Lucky-- to hate IS to fear. Amicus calls that naïve, but it is a basic truth of psychology. No one hates that which she does not fear. It results from fear; it's a defense mechanism. The dude punched the face of the known queer because he was afraid, pure and simple. You call it 'challenged' but it's just fear. Certainly nothing to be proud of or make excuses for.

The Ohioan proposes this to protect us all from something of which he personally is very afraid. Nothing unusual about that, really. Much legislation comes out of people's fears. He will have support from those who likewise quake in their boots to consider gayness. Amicus calls it 'uneasiness,' but that is merely euphemism. They're just cowards, lashing out at the things which they feel threatened by. If there are enough of them, the legislation will fly.

 

[SlickTony]

~~~~~~~~~

Slick Tony, I am quite sure you know exactly what the metaphor, 'walk like a man' was intended to convey; women who act like men.

And...you may walk any way you choose when trolling.


amicus...

I am going to assume that your choice of the word "trolling" was made in jest. The main circumstance when I find myself walking downtown at night is when I've worked overtime and found that I'd stayed past the the time that the Sunflower Trolley quits running. Our local transit authority SAYS that the trolleys run till 7:00. They lie. The last one usually comes along at 6:45, unless the driver happens to feel like knocking off early, in which case it's more like 6:40 or 6:35. When that happens, I have to walk from my workplace to the trolley lot where my car is. If it's during the winter, it is dark. By that time I am pissed at JTA and probably give off signals that I am not to be messed with. I'd like to think that if your womenfolk found themselves in that circumstance you'd prefer them to carry themselves like that rather than act all femme and identify themselves as potential victims on the spot.

As far as "acting like men," that is so subjective, and varies from era to era and from culture to culture. In the culture we are familiar with, this can manifest itself in any number of things, such as a little girl preferring to play baseball or soccer rather than with dolls, or a woman having the temerity to know the difference between a flathead screwdriver and a Phillips. OTOH, there's a tribe in Africa (I think) where the guys spend the day tweaking their maquillage and the women are off all day herding cattle.