Hot Topics

All of my holiday season magazines have been arriving with gift suggestions for everyone on your list. Some gift suggestions are ridiculously expensive, some are just ridiculous, but one suggestion has really caught my interest. I wouldn't necessarily call it a board game but it is sort of in the game family. The name is Table Topics. It is a cube filled with little cards that each have a topic on them. The idea is that you're supposed to put the cards out when you have a party so that your guests will have things to discuss. But, one of the topics caught my eye and I feel like it needs to be turned into a blog.

The question was, "What is the best and worst thing about being your gender?". I read the question and didn't put much thought to it at first but after a while I couldn't stop thinking about it. It has really been on my mind for the past week so, of course, I had to get it all out here.

The best part of the question, for me, was easy.... the shoes. Seriously. Look at all the fun options we have for shoes. And our shoes can say so much about who we are or the attitude we are trying to portray. It would be so sad to be a man and not be able to wear all the fun shoes. Women are allowed to play dress up in their own closets everyday. Men don't really get that option.

Once I got the best part of the question out of the way I really started thinking of the worst part. There are a lot of crappy things about being a woman. Your period, obviously. But also shaving, cellulite, visits to the gynecologist... Nothing fun about any of that. All those things are bad but, to me, the worst thing about being a woman is having to be everything to everyone all the time.

As women we have such high expectations placed on us. I don't mean to say that we shouldn't be expected to be as smart as a man or as good at our jobs because we certainly should, and I think we do a damn good job at it. But we are expected to be just as good as the men at that stuff and also all the "womanly" tasks too. We have to go to work everyday and work alongside the men and hold our own, while dressed up and wearing makeup and having our hair done, but then we also have to come home and make sure our families get fed and the house gets clean and that everyone is taken care of. If you don't do that, you're not a good wife. Right?

I don't know who exactly is worse at placing the expectations. Is it other women that expect you to be well dressed and thin and have the best hair cut/color? Or is it the men? Are our bosses the ones who place the pressure to be just as good as the men at our jobs without bringing up "issues" and, thus, being seen as a bitch? Or is it society? Is it our family that expects us to get married and start a family and live a "storybook" lifestyle? Or is it ourselves? Whoever it is, I just feel like it is a lot of pressure.

A lot of times, I don't give a crap about other people's expectations. I am who I am, I've come to terms with that. But, for the sake of the argument, I don't think men feel the same kind of pressure that women do. Maybe they feel a different kind of pressure. Maybe I should ask a man to answer the same Table Topic question and see what he says. He'd probably something gross like, farting in public. It is a good topic to think on though. I'd love to hear your answers in the comments. I also may have to invest in that little game if not just for blog topics.