Idaman was complaining the other day about how her male friends look down on her for not being able to play football (soccer). It seems that men generally have this very negative perception about a woman's ability on the ball (no pun intended), even after watching the perception-changing "Bend it like Beckham" and the fact that most teams currently playing in the Women's World Cup could slaughter Malaysia's men's national football team.
But the whole incident got me thinking.
When men look down on women for whatever reason, is it necessarily a gender thing or is it a power thing?
To test this theory, i asked a few lady friends: Do they look down on men who can't do [blank] - the blank to be filled in with whatever activity least associated to men. Then i asked them, Do they look down on women who can't do [blank] - whatever activity most associated to women. Lastly, i asked them, Do they look on people who should be able to do something but can't and they don't understand why they can't do it.
For example, i asked a female colleague, "What do you think about Ali (not his real name) who can't seem to get that simple job done?"
She replied, "He's a loser."
I asked, "What do you think about men who can't cook?"
She replied, "Its not that they can't, but its just that they are too ****ing lazy to learn."
I asked, "What do you think about Lisa (not her real name), 30 years old and still unmarried."
She replied, "I think she's spent too much time on her career and not enough time looking for a husband."
Such responses have gotten me to thinking that perhaps the way men look down on women is not exclusively a male thing. It seems to go both ways, and also intra-gender as well. Therefore, perhaps, its not even a gender thing. Could it be a power thing?: I have something, or i can do something you can't, regardless of whether you're male or female, therefore i'm better than you.
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