Boys, you can break
You'll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without the warmth from
A woman's good, good heart
So boys you can break hm? Just treat them however so that they will be "tough?" I guess they don't carry that on into other relationships. Besides, they'll just be strong and soldier on? Oh that's right, boys have the special genitalia that allows them to deal with pain and hardship, unlike girls. But oh wait, girls are the ones who bear those boys and isn't that a bit of a challenge?
Hmph. I know I'm being a little bit curmudgeonly here, but seriously - I get from this that girls are sweet and soft and should be treated with kid gloves and boys are rough and tumble and should show a stiff upper lip no matter what you do to them. Looking at his romantic history, it strikes me that Mr. Mayer may need to revise his perspective.
Sorry. The annoyance with this has been building for a long, long time. Had to get it out.
'Til later,
FCiF
8 comments:
You know, even if boys tend towards the rough and tumble, they damned well should be treated gently by their parents. If I had heard this song, it would piss me off too.
This is a word I hardly ever use (it has to be really well-deserved) -- John Mayer is a total douchebag. That faux-sensitive stuff complete with the annoying voice, which contradicts so much of what we hear that makes him sound like a total a-hole.... GRRRRR. And that song sucks, too, for all the reasons you state, and then some.
Brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood curmudgeon,
Rebecca
Can I buy E his first doll?
While I appreciate what you're saying... there is ABSOLUTELY a difference between the sexes when it comes to emotions. My husband has, on occasion, used too stern a tone with my niece and made her cry. On the other hand, nothing BUT a stern voice gets my nephew's attention. Not trying to say that we should all live our lives within stereotype bubbles... but at the same time pretending like stereotypes didn't arise from observed patterns of behavior is also not fair or accurate.
True. But boys you can break? come on. Girls are tough stuff to do what they do. And I know many boys now who tend to the sensitive. My family and I worry about them come school age. sigh. I think the differences are widened and exaggerated by society. For example, you should see my husband's Filipino family. The men would be deemed "Sissy" or "Gay" by many American males, and they are neither.
Don't get me wrong Barb - I totally agree with you that we should absolutely care about boys' feelings and needs just as much as girls'...
My brother is also of the sensitive type and isn't homosexual. He was very close with my mom when he was growing up so I suspect this tenancy is more nurture than nature. Which is fine, there's nothing wrong with that, and, in fact, I think my brother is awesome. BUT, my alpha-male husband I am sure, will want to nurture a more "manly" male persona in our son and I think that's ok too.
People are people. Some girls are girly while others are not. (I'm most not.) Some guys are "guys guys" while others are not. (My husband mostly is.) I think that John Mayer is just a guys guy and talking about HIS perspective on boys. Daniel Powder is totally opposite. It seems to me like one is no more wrong than the other...
I just had a random thought I wanted to throw out... one of my husband's biggest pet peeves is the continuing demasculization/metrosexual movement. It drives him absolutely nuts that a guy would be measured by whether his belt and shoes match. He just finds it totally ridiculous and off base. You're concerned that your son will be expected to be something specific simply because of his gender while my husband is concerned that our son will be expected to be something OTHER than his gender.
Just a little perspective from the other side of the fence.
(For the record I'm a staunch fence rider on this topic. I am not bothered by metrosexuals or stinky men watching football and drinking beer. In fact, which one is most appealing just depends on my mood any given day!)
Good points M. I don't like ANY forcing of stereotypes on children. And I never like the idea of using force with children just because they're boys, or coddling girls just because they're girls. That's why the song bothers me. It's the assumption without the context or specifics of the individual.
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