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Friday, March 26, 2010

GI Jane Strength

When I was younger, my dad didn't treat me like a "girl" when it came to physical activity. If there was heavy lifting to do, I pitched in. It didn't even occur to me to say "But Daa-aa-aad, I'm a girl, I can't carry that much," though I'm sure I did my best to come up with some pretty convincing excuses. I did "boy" work. I carried as much as a kid could, I mowed the lawn, I helped clear down trees, I did whatever work had to be done. Sure I was weaker than my brother, he was older than me and much larger, but I don't think it ever made much of a difference. There wasn't often much that needed lifting that he was able to carry and I wasn't. So I was pretty surprised when I was helping my boyfriend rearrange his room one day, and he took the TV out of my hands because he was afraid it was too heavy for me. Again, I'm sure he was stronger than I was, but for practicality purposes, it didn't often matter. I was actually pretty offended that he didn't think I could lift a TV, like I was some worthless damsel who needed a guy to do every little thing for her. I wanted to be treated the same as the boys.

I wanted to be TREATED the same as the boys. I had absolutely no desire to be a boy. In fact, I had a nightmare that I was a boy once. It was horrible. I wasn't even stressed about having once been a girl and now having to fit back into society as a boy. I was simply freaked out by having a penis. Nope, I'm a girl, I have a vagina, and as much as I complain about it, I'd like to keep 'er, thanks. Anyway, the point is, I loved (still love) being a girl. I just didn't want to be treated like I was too weak for anything. In practicality, I wasn't too weak for a whole lot. Sure, I would lose at arm wrestling and probably couldn't do as many push-ups (though I could rock the sit-ups! Ha!), but what did it matter when I could still throw the football pretty far, I could climb trees, run faster than a lot of the boys, and even lift a TV.

A rule that I have for myself now, since I do a lot of moving, is that I'm not allowed to own anything that I cannot carry without the help of one other person (of about my strength). If my female roommate and I can't carry my desk, I have to get a new desk. So far, it has never been a problem. I've never had to trade anything in for a lighter model. So it doesn't matter in my life that my max. strength is probably less than most men; I don't strain myself to my limit on a daily basis. Even after growing up and men are supposed to be much stronger than women, I still want to be treated the same.

Men and women should be equal, not actually BE the same. Men and women are different, and as we learned on Sesame Street, differences are good. This brings about all kinds of problems, though. Men and women should be treated equally, yet fairly at the same time. So in high school gym, when they're testing how many push-ups students can do at a time, yes, men can generally do more. So what does this mean for the treatment of men and women in areas where they are not the same, like physical strength? (I just watched GI Jane, that's why I'm on this topic right now.) GI Jane wanted to be treated exactly the same, no vagina handicap. Is that how it should be, or should we go back to the physical fitness test in high school (http://www.presidentschallenge.org/educators/program_details/physical_fitness/85_percent_chart.html) in which girls' goals are lower for everything (except the flexibility test. So vice versu, should we treat guys like they can stretch as far as girls can?) The feminist in me screams "No! GI Jane says NO!"

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