(no subject)

[dolari]

Okay, question for the women born girls out there. Warning: Possibly ignorant juvenile generalizations are discussed. :)

A long while ago, while visiting a friend who was four eleven and ninety nine pounds, I noticed how much the world just doesn't fit her. She's extraordinarily petite though. Another friend may have broken her knuckle because her sparring partner was a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her. There's a dichotomy there that is so different, but depending on your point of view, the OTHER side must seem too small/too big.

Growing up as a male, I'd always seen my male body shape as "the norm." General consensus (from what I gathered from the rest of my gender around the teens) was the women were smaller and lighter than "the norm" and because of that, women were more delicate and fragile people. Some males even considered them less intelligent and overly emotional than "the norm." Male bodies were proportioned (at the time) and as tall (althgouh usually taller) than mine, and therefore "the norm" as well.

Now, I know that's just a complete generalization because of the gender I was born into. Many of my female friends are totally not delicate and/or fragile, or would be stomp most not-delicately and not-fragilely all over your face if you called them so.

That said...I'm assuming there's an equal and opposite to that: Women born women probably see themselves as "the norm." I'm assuming there were those same generalizations about men from that side of the aisle. If there are, what were they? Over-muscular hulking anger and arrogance engines? :)

I realize it's not the same as a the difference between a lefty and righty, but definitely something that is currently got me thinking....

Comments

[taliabear.livejournal.com]

Hmm, only male generalizations I can think of from this side of things - men don't understand emotions, will be totally dense if you try to explain why you're upset. May well be dense about many things, really - but most especially those involving social interaction. Men are bigger and stronger than you, and thus potentially dangerous - especially considering another generalization is that they are hypersexual, barely in control of their sexual urges really. Often arrogant, yes, and hate to admit to being wrong. Asking for help is another thing that to "us" hardly ever seems to cross the male mind, even when they need it.

All I can think of as far as shitty generalizations: women talking about men right now. x)

[jenndolari.livejournal.com]

Oooh, thanks for the insights. :) The "potentially dangerous" comment reminded me to write about the time I realized I'd gone from being the "hunter" to the "hunted."

It's funny how switching hormones changes you. I THOUGHT I was emotional before I transitioned, but the estrogen taught me "No. You RECOGNIZED emotion...now you're FEELING it." I always explained it as the difference between going to a movie and saying "Wow, that was really sad" and bawling at the actual scene.

The hypersexuality is something I wrote about in the book, and how it felt just so out of control until I thought it calmed down.

[...] In "The Nightmare of Fifth Grade" I mentioned how every thought I had was "tinged" with sex, anger or challenge. As I got older that evened out, to a more "normal." After about seventh grade, not everything with two carefully situated globes (breasts, butts, watermelons, canteloups, maps with east and west hemispheres, geometery homework) yelled "SEX ME."

Looking back, It really didn't calm down, I just learned to manage and control it. Once I started hormones, One a scale from 10 to 1 on the ", I went from an 8 to 3. And THEN I understood why even my most trusted women friends would be careful of what I saw.

Again, for me, that felt like "The Norm." I like the new norm much better. :)

I'm still pretty arrogant, though. ;)

[taliabear.livejournal.com]

Another one I remembered earlier was that men are supposed to be MESSY - Chris, at least, lives up to this. ;)

[elenderel.livejournal.com]

Immense pride. The inability to give up, even in the face of utter defeat/humiliation/annihilation, because that would mean the man was *gasp* WRONG or somehow deficient.

[elenderel.livejournal.com]

Worse still - if a woman is able to demonstrate that the man was wrong.

[danodea.livejournal.com]

Testosterone poisoning.
Not able to see the probable results of actions.
Incapable of long range planning.
Not interested in "working" at anything related to domesticity or relationships.