This week was very eye opening because of how gender roles affect people. It seems that through the world's eyes gender stereotypes adults and children. If someone takes on more feminine qualities they better be a girl or else they are gay. If someone takes on masculine qualities they better be a boy or the not-so-terrible tomboy. Because the world has these beliefs it is sometimes hard for people in the middle to feel that they are acceptable. They often feel like they need to change to fit into these roles when all of us are individual and unique. Our Father made us that way and created roles so we can complement and better one another. We are not meant to fill each other's roles. How beautiful it would be to have a sensitive and emotionally-savvy protector and provider? How fun would it be to have a tomboy nurturer? People whose personalities fill a myriad of roles are just as useful, competent, reliable, and desirable as those who fit perfectly into the defined roles.
On a slightly related not, when we were studying about Same-Sex Attraction(SSA), I kept hearing that these men just wanted to feel accepted by men and make male connections. This led me to thinking that it's so important to maintain a "masculine" and a "feminine" instead of trying to blend everyone into a unisex gender role. These men said that when they were accepted by the masculine men, they felt a change come over them. They felt important and one with a group that had previously reviled them. They came into contact with "warm", masculine men who were willing to include and interact with them even though they were not the stereotypical guy.
We watched a really fascinating video that focused on men who have unwanted SSA. It really made an impression on me because I have never had a lot of experience with SSA individuals. This video came from their perspectives and really helped me see.
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