What makes us think that you have to be a guy to play mud football? Or you have to be a girl to play with Barbie dolls? Society sets rules on its people based on sex. Other than public scrutiny, there is nothing stopping you from doing things. Your DNA is not modified at birth to say, “I am a man and I must watch football every Sunday, while eating Buffalo Wings and I must yell at the inanimate television anytime the ref makes a bad call.” Jamaica Kincaid wrote a poem titled, Girl, in which she lays out the rules that her daughter must follow in order to become a respected female member of society. Similarly, our class developed poems in which we laid out the rules a person must follow in order to be (in my case) Slade (below). This is not the first blog to attempt to cover the broad topics of diversity and society's rules. Check out the links below to get a different perspective:
- This 25 year old learns the true value of diversity.
- This mother writes of her experiences in the behavioral differences in girls and boys.
Slade
Everyone should call you by your last name, in fact you don’t even have a first name; if you are not acting up a little bit in class, then class is too boring; wait until the last day to do your work, but make sure you get it done and done well; work as much as you would like so you can always money in your pocket; drive well and aggressively, but not too fast, and keep an eye out for those state troopers; 87; listen to good music – that means no country or screaming; study when you have to, but don’t spend your whole life studying; hang out with your friends as much as possible and don’t do anything too stupid; eat Five Guys as much as possible (or as much as your wallet can allow); attend every basketball game you can and make sure to be wearing your Cowboy Crazies shirt; do not wake up any earlier than you absolutely have to; make sure you don’t miss 24 on Monday nights, or Entourage on Sunday nights; the owner of the nearest Chinese restaurant should know you by name; Burger King must get half their business from you; your iPod should be eclectic but specified – nothing goes on your iPod that you don’t want to ever listen to; Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers should be a meal at least once a week; if you are not working out at least five times a week you are going to become that fatass everyone tells you that you should be; a password-locked unattended computer is a crime; if someone falls asleep, the hamsteak comes out; Your Spanish teacher’s blood pressure must be borderline heartattack; this is how to make Yada’s car smell; this is how you pass someone on the other side of the road when they are going too slow.
