Men - the largest stereotype!

“Why should boys have all the fun?” Well, clearly this jingle is the brainchild of some dreamy eyed girl, born and brought up in our very own Indian society, who thinks that being a guy is all fun and no hardships. Being a boy, I feel compelled to clear this wrong notion nurturing inside the head of every female.

Firstly, I would like to ask, what on Earth made you think that a boy’s life is all fun? Let me try and clear this wrong idea by a few examples:

I.                   The Super-Hero Syndrome: Every guy is supposed to act like a superhero who is absolutely unperturbed by the presence of an insect, reptile or ghosts. (Needless to mention, only in front of girls!) Why can’t a guy be afraid of a cockroach, a lizard, a spider or boogeyman? Why does he need to be there to shoo these creatures away? You think it is easy to pretend to be heroic in front of a lizard, sitting at a corner, looking at you through its glassed-eyes, flicking its tongue inside and outside continuously, with its slimy and scaly skin, the crooked tail and hideous claws. Trust me, it is not! It takes a lot of courage to not let that fear show on our faces, and none of it is ‘FUN’. Why am I laughed at if I feel scared while watching a horror movie? The name itself suggests that it is supposed to scare you.

II.                 Man of Steel: Being a guy is all about being ruthless, unemotional and hard as steel. Guys are not expected to be human in this regard, I feel. What happens when a guy feels emotional while watching a very sad movie? Why cannot a man cry and express his emotions openly? I thought emotions were what made us different from animals; and if by showing our emotions openly, we are unconsidered unmanly, then are not men animals? Why cannot a man watch a light-hearted chic-flick for a change?  Everything has been stereotyped to the core.

III.              Colour Avert: Bright colours have become a ‘girls only’ category of products. Although this is slowly and surely changing, but still colours like pink are considered either girly or gay. Why cannot a man like pink, and be straight at the same time? Which biological theory connects sexual orientation to the fondness towards one particular colour? If there exists one, please enlighten us! Why cannot a guy buy a car (normal car, not a sports car), or a scooter which is yellow or green and not be laughed at? Why are the colourful helmets and sunglasses a ‘girls only’ product?

IV.              Handy Man: Why are boys stereotyped as handy men? Like every boy, even a commerce graduate or a humanities graduate, has to know everything about engineering! I agree that most of us know the basics of electricity and can work as a part-time mechanic, but all of us are NOT engineers!!

Such expectations from all guys are not from girls only, but from guys as well. We all know that one ‘overly manly man’ who will go to any depths or heights to prove his manliness. Such people will expect every guy to be a superhero and will claim “mard ko dard nahi hota”. Such people need a reality check as every man is not made the same. How does a particular phobia or aversion to a particular kind of colour, music or genre of movies make anyone a true MAN!? Why has been a MAN so stereotyped?

“Men are actually the weaker sex” ~ George Weinberg (Psychologist)