Wednesday, March 11, 2009

She-man or He-woman?

Listening to: 'Give Me One Reason' by Tracy Chapman & Eric Clapton [New Beginning]

I was at dinner with some guys from work yesterday. I use the word 'guys' here in its original definition, that being 'young males'. The conversation was therefore very 'guyish' - not in a sleazy way, but in a we-wouldn't-talk-about-such-things-in-front-of-the-girls way. I know this because they told me so. One of them said something rather off colour and started to apologise, and then saw me laughing and said "oh wait I forgot, we don't have to censor what we say in front of you". Which resulted in me laughing even more.

Now this was all well and good, until I remembered that these same guys were genuinely surprised to see me in a dress on Friday. They were surprised when I once said I spend ages on my hair. And it's not just me - there's another girl I know who gets teased endlessly when she wears a dress, simply because they think of her as a guy.

Why?! Why is it that I'm treated like a guy and not a girl? Can't I be treated like a guy and a girl? Or just a girl with an 'in the gutter' sense of humour and an uncharacteristic interest in sport and action movies? It's nice that these guys feel comfortable enough around me to talk about all the off colour things they can think of, but why can't they accept that I'll also wear high heels once in a while? I mean if it's ok for their girlfriends, why not for me?

I just don't get it. I don't think of myself as 'guyish' or 'girly' - I think I'm a healthy mix (and Blogthings agrees!). But I'm thinking...is that not allowed? Have I missed some kind of memo asking me to choose between the two? Sigh I dunno. I don't think I'll ever know.

In other news, I got ID'd yesterday, when trying to enter a pub. I'm 25 for goodness sake. I'm older than the guys I was with! What a bloody joke.

7 comments:

  1. ahh.. the eternal identity problem with the female nation :P


    look, ur happy they consider u to be part o da guys yea? i mean u had fun last nite, plus u didnt find the 'slightly off colour' statements offensive, in fact u found it funny! u like sports and action movies, so guys dig u...

    BUT.. if they see u all dressed up in heels and skirts (ahem!) then when they act all surprised its more of a guy reaction too.. if one of the boys does something good its typical guy reaction to laugh or poke fun at it.. :)

    yes ive become the internet psychologist, sue me :P bottom line ur a unique brand o gal that can have fun wit da boys and still glam it up..

    btw isnt gettin ID'd kinda a compliment ...? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unique brand, eh? I'll take that as a compliment, so thank you :-) But yeah, guys dig me...as a sister or a buddy...and then I sit and watch while they trip over themselves trying to impress all the other girls they meet...it's a tough life :-|

    And no, getting ID'd isn't a compliment when the bouncer says "you haven't got a driving license/passport so I can't let you in" and you have to go find somewhere else to eat!

    ReplyDelete
  3. lol its a tough life, im sure.. perhaps u jus need to bring out the skirty pseudo a bit more often... ;)

    ok i really must stop giving dating tips...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hahahaha no no please continue, I find it rather amusing :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL yeah ok. You know you're not half bad...for a batta ;-)

    ReplyDelete

Speak now, or forever hold your peace (well not really)!