Who should rule the world?

We've picked out one message below to share, mostly because we kept reading and reading and just thought perhaps we should let you read his email -- WOW, does he have strong opinions or what????? And in our opinion, he's got a fairly decent if not interesting brain upstairs.

His name is Doyen, but unless he asks we won't post his email or anything. If you want though Doyen, just email us again and we'll put it in for others to write to you! Now, on with the email! ~

From: Doyen
To: teens@southernpride.com
Subject: "Everybody wants to rule the world..."
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 12:31:08 GMT

Well, you sure like to pick the HOT topics!
Who should rule the world Men or Women?
Why should that sex rule the world?
How should the world be run?

My opinion... (as a male)

Any world that is ruled by one 'gender' is doomed to failure. (and please, no "men have done a good job of doing that.." jokes, I've heard them all! grin)

Honestly, I feel that the best way to achieve a stable and balanced society is by balancing the responsibility of 'ruling the world' on BOTH genders. However, to do this, we need to define some form of 'equality' standards that everyone can live with. In of itself, THAT is where the real challenge lies.

No offence, but I feel that females just can't make up their mind on this issue. I don't say this in a derogatory manner, but in reference to the lifestyle that females have lived for centuries. I myself have no problem with equality and change, as long as it IS EQUAL.

So that is the problem really. Just what IS equality supposed to be?

Females becoming more like men...? No. I think females have come a long way, and to go farther would be self-defeating.

No one has really ever talked about or explored what I will suggest below, but it might be time to 'think' about what it all would mean...

In our fairly male dominated society, females have been grasping for 'equality' by basically becoming female "men." I remember reading of the earlier eras, when females would don the clothes of men to avoid the discrimination that was rampant in those days. This type of approach to 'equality is doomed to failure. Not only because of the differences in our genders physically, but because of the differences in our genders psychologically!

How then can females further their goal of equality?

The simple, logical, and controversial answer is...

...to make males MORE like females.

When this concept is first considered, most people I've debated it with have found it hard to swallow. However, it is the only REAL way that females can gain more equality without losing their identity as a gender.

Let's face it, much of the conflict in today's society is caused by men with something to prove. It all goes back to our primal instincts as males, which we have a hard time overcoming.

Let's look at an example of how female influence can affect the behavior of males by way of a study done recently. They studied the effects of young boys who were 'immersed' into a female dominated classroom environment. Since this type of setting would usually preclude the learning of male gender bias towards females, the young boys were compared with others in a male dominated classroom environment. (I don't remember the ratio offhand, but I think it was around 10:1 in both cases. If you're interested, I can look it up for you.)

The results were quite interesting. In the case of the boys in the female dominated environment, they were found to be less violent, more polite, and treated their female counterparts in a highly respectful manner. Of course, as expected, the opposite held true in the opposite study of boys in a male dominated environment.

What caused this to happen was that the girls would not tolerate the normally violent (in the sense of boys 'roughhousing' and such) behavior of the boys. In the situation, the boys found themselves shunned by the girls. To be able to interact with the girls, the boys had to adopt a behavior pattern that was acceptable to the girls. Or in essence, adopting behavior with a greater female influence than in normal circumstances.

In a way, it seems pretty logical. Girls, especially at younger ages, do not like boys who are 'rough'. However, It is somewhat surprising how much this can impact a boy's behavior patterns in early life.

So let's bring this concept to the 'grown' male. How could this impact females in society, and how could this 'change' how the world is 'run'?

Although one might suggest I am 'shooting myself in the foot for suggesting it', but females already have the ability to influence male behavior in a great many ways! Think about it.

Stop for a moment and think of how a girl can 'influence' a guy's behavior...

The power is already there, but females never use it. I made the mistake of listing some of my 'weaknesses' to a friend of mine during a discussion of this, and she promptly 'had to' try them out.

There are many aspects of this in society that some females don't understand the impact of. For example, have you heard a female talk about a male in regard to their 'appearance' or 'actions'? In particular, I'm referring to males whose appearance is somewhat more 'feminine' than what is normally seen in open society. What I have seen is females who suggest that the male's appearance is 'degrading' or makes him 'less of a man' in some way.

Think about it... If a female criticizes a male for looking like a female and somehow 'lowering' his status, then what does that say? It says that 'looking like a female' equals 'being below the status of a male'. If females want EQUALITY, then this just doesn't make sense.

If females want to have a stronger influence as a gender, then 'looking like a female' is going to need to be thought of as a _positive_ thing and not a negative one. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not advocating or suggesting that all males should dress like females. What I am suggesting is that female IDEALS should not include ideas like 'looking like a female' equals 'being below the status of a male'. Thoughts like that are a step in the wrong direction.

Once an effort is made to make appearance and other 'gender specific things' a 'non-issue' in regards to a person's status or 'equality' in the human race, I believe that gender will cease to become an issue in equality.

When that happens, (if ever) I would expect that the world would see a 'new life' for itself. A life where gender equality would make the question of...

"Who should rule the world Men or Women?"

...irrelevant.

[I hope I didn't get too deep!]

Regards,

Doyen