Of Men and Women

It's the weekend, so I needn't feel obliged to post kid pics. I have been thinking a little (I never think too deeply) about the differences between women and men. Um ... wait a minute ... I am not thinking about those differences, although they intrigue me to no end, but about social differences -- where women have so many if not all of the advantages over us guys.

For example: what do you see in this picture?

Well duh. Of course, it's two women hugging. Sue met a neighbour whilst we were taking the air with JJ the other day. So, they hugged. Mind you, Sue doesn't hug every woman that she meets, but still ... she, and women in general, enjoy a freedom that is denied to the non-estrogenic members of the human race.

I mean to say, could you imagine me running up to Al and hugging him when we encountered him and Molly a little bit later on the same outing?

No? I didn't think so. Although Molly and I have been known to become quite intimate.

I do find it difficult to resist blondes.

Women have a sisterhood that men don't. About the best that the brotherhood can muster is to get together over booze and swear, belch, and tell questionable jokes to each other. It just ain't the same. I know some local guys got together in a local pub to watch UFC together (perish the thought), but that didn't last very long.  don't think it exactly knit them into a tight group. Meanwhile, Sue and the ladies have been getting together for Friday coffee for years.

There's more to it though.

Women have the freedom to dress and act differently. Men are much more socially constrained and restrained. While I have always known this on some level, it really struck me on this past season's airing of So You Think You Can Dance. Both Cat Deely and Mary Murphy are free to be themselves in both dress and behaviour while the guys, by either nature or nurture are more conservative. If you watch the show, you'll know what I mean; if not, you can pretty well fill in the gaps.

Cat Deely

Meanwhile, let's have a wee gander at Nigel, the main male panelist/judge.

Nigel Lythgoe

He's wearing a suit and tie. This uniform has been man's only way of dressing up since time immemorial. It's how I dressed up sixty years ago and how men dressed up long before then. It doesn't change much.

Here's proof.

Me and my maternal grandfather circa 1950

My paternal great grandfather. Yes, I mean Great.

You see? Nothing much has changed. Ties widen and narrow, but they're still ties. Jacket lapels do the same. Buttons may be two or three depending on the era, and, which and how many you are supposed to leave undone changes, but there are still two or three buttons. I remember at one point in my youth feeling out-of-fashion because my jacket only had one vent at the back when two were the fashion, but the fundamental nature of the beast remains unchanged. Suits remain what they have been -- silly items of apparel and a symbol of the societal restraints put upon those of testosteronic persuasion.

I do know that women have their societal issues. They/you have been kept barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen in history, and, although the glass ceiling might have cracked, it still hasn't exactly shattered into a million pieces. But to a large degree, women are at least free to be themselves. We guys, on the other hand, are so inhibited that we probably don't even know who ourselves are.

So that's it for now. My brain hurts after thinking these, for me, incredibly deep thoughts, and kid pics will resume shortly at a time and place near you.