Guys can be So Great Sometimes
A bunch of them, ranging from my 19 year-old cousin to my 9th grade boyfriend, not only read my PsychologyToday.com essay but also wanted to get *into* it with me. This youth culture, where women are supposed to want to look young and perfect and men are supposed to want women that look young and perfect, is getting tired for all of us.
As one commenter said, “We’re not all pricks who care so much about how you look that we miss the girl within.”
My cousin also made the great point that “taking care of yourself and trying to look good doesn’t have to mean that you’re bowing down to the man’s expectations of you. Only to your expectations of yourself.” And I agree. Ideally when you’re doing something like working out at the gym it should be empowering rather than diminishing.
The amount of feedback I received about this article from the men in my life underscores that feminism is not about men versus women, it’s about men and women who want to break free of outdated cultural constraints that only serve to limit all of our happiness.
