When it comes to things like past time activities, hobbies and music taste, people often have a really diverse range. But why is it that some of these things are perceived as ābetterā than others?
We live in the age of social media and easily accessible make-up, Ā so weāve got access to thousands of tutorial videos for every occasion. We try it, talk about it and swap advice; we enjoy it! Sadly, there seems to be aĀ trend however of demeaning anything and everything āfeminineā unless it pleases the male portion of society. Even as society is becoming more educated in some aspects of gender inequality, there are still issues that are not being addressed enough.Ā Namely the fact that feminine people are told to feel guilty about the things they enjoy! Do you enjoy makeup or fashion? Then youāre vain and shallow (or at least thatās how youāre made to feel). People might not tell you explicitly but you are often treated like that, and this attitude is an attitude thatās reinforced by the media. Yes, the same media that says we need to do these things to be ābeautifulā in the first place; and then berates us for doing them! We canāt win.
The most toxic aspect of this issue is that itās so deeply engraved in people that they donāt even realise how problematic it is. I was told by my own mother that IĀ should re-evaluate my priorities when IĀ pointed out that aĀ lady near us was carrying aĀ Prada bag. Zayn Malik has, in an interview for Billboard, mentioned that he likes it when girls are able to have an intelligent conversation that goes beyond makeup. Newsflash Zaynie; all girls can have aĀ conversation that goes beyond makeup, they just maybe enjoy talking about it as well as, or more than about politics. Politics is messy and corrupt, whilst makeup is, for many, aĀ source of fun, and aĀ form of self-expression and creativity. Maybe some people just donāt want to foster negativity in their lives by constantly dwelling on how bad and cruel the world is? And that certainly doesnāt make them any less intelligent.
Another thing people seem to have an issue with is pop music; apparently if itās fun and you can dance to it, itās no longer āreal musicā. People treat the Top 40 as if itās some sort of aĀ guilty pleasure, something that decent, dignified people which āgood tasteā simply cannot enjoy without having had aĀ drink or two. Why is it that people still act like me liking One Direction is something peculiar? IĀ remember once having a fight with aĀ boy on Facebook, he called me a ‘stupid cow’ because IĀ do in fact like 1D and wished me āa lot of luck with my lifeā. Well Iād like to thank him, because my life is going very well; Iām happy and Iām working on aĀ degree.
Even people in my family, however, seem to have aĀ difficulty understanding how I, aĀ 20 year old with IQ of 136, can enjoy this kind of music. Again, this is because aĀ band with mostly female fanbase canāt be good, right? All of the crazy fangirls yelling and attending multiple concerts and buying merchandise… Crazy. Now imagine we started treating male sports fans the same. Attending or at least watching all of the games, buying jerseys, caps and scarves? Thatās some craziness right there, not even mentioning the riots that are often associated with football games. Why does no one treat these largely male fanbases as if thereās something wrong with them? Why do people not question their intelligence and general life choices?
All IĀ ask is for people to think about this, and the next time that theyāre about to patronise someone for enjoying inherently feminine things; donāt. IĀ also want all of you reading this to unapologetically enjoy all the wonderful things this world has to offer! Go talk to everyone about the great new lipstick you bought. Go to that concert, yell as much as you can and enjoy every second of it. IĀ want each and every single one of you to stop feeling guilty for enjoying things that are considered feminine, because feminine does NOT equal stupid.Ā