This could possibly be in "Things I Hate," but I think "hate" is a bit too strong of a word, so once again I'm thankful for this "Grab Bag" forum. This could be something that just makes me feel a tad bit discombobulated.
Whenever people talk about stereotypes pertaining to sex, I feel strange, because I find that many of them don't apply to me. For example, if someone says, "If this situation arises, a woman will typically look at it like this," and then they explain how this typical woman will view this situation, I'll often be thinking to myself, "Well, gee, that's probably how I would look at that situation."
Consider this stereotype as an example. I've heard it said that when men are traveling somewhere, they'll navigate based on road names, cardinal directions, and the like, while conversely, women will navigate based on landmarks. There was even an episode of Home Improvement that made light of this. I can't remember the exact story, but in the episode, Jill was giving directions to Tim, and her directions were something like, "Turn left at the McDonald's, then keep going until you get to the 7-11 and turn right." This frustrated Tim, who at one point exclaimed, "Does she realize these streets have names?!?"
Actually, when I'm out driving, I often find that I use landmarks quite a bit. For example, when I was in grad school, I found a back way to get to school that allowed me to avoid the highways during rush hour. I knew that back route by heart, and still do, but when someone asks me exactly what roads to turn on when taking that route, I'll sputter, because I can't remember. I just remembered what traffic lights and intersections I needed to turn at.
I know it's silly to feel this way, but when I hear these stereotypes, and they don't apply to me, I catch myself feeling strange, like maybe they should apply to me. It hasn't just happened with the directions thing I just described, but with other things, too. For example, stereotypes dictate that guys leave things lying around and don't clean up after themselves, while I usually keep my living space fairly neat. Don't get me wrong. I have some clutter, but I won't take a shower and leave my towels and dirty clothes in the middle of the floor. Though I have questioned how accurate this stereotype really is, because I've met several females who are pretty sloppy and leave things lying around. My sister is one of them. When she lived at home, Mom was always after her to clean her room, and when she went to college, Mom got to the point where she cringed before going to her dorm room.
Whenever people talk about stereotypes pertaining to sex, I feel strange, because I find that many of them don't apply to me. For example, if someone says, "If this situation arises, a woman will typically look at it like this," and then they explain how this typical woman will view this situation, I'll often be thinking to myself, "Well, gee, that's probably how I would look at that situation."
Consider this stereotype as an example. I've heard it said that when men are traveling somewhere, they'll navigate based on road names, cardinal directions, and the like, while conversely, women will navigate based on landmarks. There was even an episode of Home Improvement that made light of this. I can't remember the exact story, but in the episode, Jill was giving directions to Tim, and her directions were something like, "Turn left at the McDonald's, then keep going until you get to the 7-11 and turn right." This frustrated Tim, who at one point exclaimed, "Does she realize these streets have names?!?"
Actually, when I'm out driving, I often find that I use landmarks quite a bit. For example, when I was in grad school, I found a back way to get to school that allowed me to avoid the highways during rush hour. I knew that back route by heart, and still do, but when someone asks me exactly what roads to turn on when taking that route, I'll sputter, because I can't remember. I just remembered what traffic lights and intersections I needed to turn at.
I know it's silly to feel this way, but when I hear these stereotypes, and they don't apply to me, I catch myself feeling strange, like maybe they should apply to me. It hasn't just happened with the directions thing I just described, but with other things, too. For example, stereotypes dictate that guys leave things lying around and don't clean up after themselves, while I usually keep my living space fairly neat. Don't get me wrong. I have some clutter, but I won't take a shower and leave my towels and dirty clothes in the middle of the floor. Though I have questioned how accurate this stereotype really is, because I've met several females who are pretty sloppy and leave things lying around. My sister is one of them. When she lived at home, Mom was always after her to clean her room, and when she went to college, Mom got to the point where she cringed before going to her dorm room.
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