An update for update's sake

This is probably a very stupid thing to be writing about, especially by me (a heterosexual girl who is often accused of being a "feminist") but I was reading a very interesting opinion piece by Allan Tieu at the Sydney Morning Herald today.

He was basically writing about men and make up - considered almost provocative for most of the male population - but for which the market is slowly opening up to.

I first rocked the black eyeliner when I was intrigued by the "emo" subculture. I saw and admired those solidly framed eyes as a form of rebellion that not all contingents of society were comfortable with. Such an attitude of defiance was satisfying to declare, but at the end of the day was still an excuse.

Due to post-acne scarring, I also had an excuse for covering my skin with foundation. But looking back, it intrigued me that after my skin cleared I chose not to stop wearing product. The need had gone - the excuse had gone - but the benefits of having even skin-tone remained.

I felt like I was in on a secret. I thought the rest of society couldn't possibly let me cheat so easily. This is why I have observed that both gay and straight men are slowly starting to realise that they can also benefit by simply asking the question: "Why not?"

- Society Grooms Men Who Blush by Allan Tieu

I don't think there is anything wrong with a man in make up. I actually have argued for the right for men to wear skirts ( I actually think they look quite dashing in them :P)

Tieu went on to say:

Metrosexuality emerged when people started to disregard "hegemonic" standards. The underlying benefit took precedence over how these men would be regarded by cynical peers. It follows the feminist view that neither men nor women should be denied access to social behaviours that are acceptable for the opposing sex - which is why today women are at liberty to play cricket, and men at liberty to wear pink.

It just really made me think again about how gender is really a social construction and made me mad at all those close minded individuals who look down at men who like to wear dresses or women who like to wear mens clothes.

Why is it such a big deal? I think it really aids in oppressing both sexes. For women, we are pressured to always be beautiful and feminine in order to get ahead in life. True success still seems to be measured by whether we look good while we are achieving things. If we don't lose our baby weight, we are frowned upon and made to feel like failures, even if we have just given birth to a miracle.

For men, if you aren't sporty or at least into typical boyish things like cars, you are almost considered abnormal or not worthy. My brother is not into typically boyish things, and even now at a very young age, he is being teased. Why does it matter? When did it become ok to make fun of people because of personal preferences?

I find that women everywhere I pushing for equality. The right to do everything a man does. But I think, in our pursuit of this, we also have to keep pushing for the rights for men to do everything women do. That includes being allowed to wear make up and dresses without being persecuted.

And now back onto my old campaign for men to always wear skirts....

While visiting Samoa about three or four years ago, my friends and I ran into a Maori man who had a shirt with three burly Polynesians in lava lavas on the front. It said "Real Men Wear Skirts".



I have to agree.

Although sometimes I have to admit that there are some exceptions:



And in other news I do have a spectacular new crush:


Mr Irfan Pathan:



Please be advised that I know nothing about cricket. I just like him because he's gorgeous :P Did that last sentence completely contradict the rest of my post?