I find myself taking pictures of the flowers out back fairly often. As my friends know, I'm an enthusiastic amateur photographer and the flowers are a great subject. Besides that, they're beautiful in their own right. And, in the warmer months, with the stinging multitude flying around that garden rectangle, well, you half take your life in your hands going back there.
At any rate, it occurs to me that it's not considered, by many, to be too terribly masculine to have too much interest in flowers. This view, of course, like so many widely held views, is stupid. After all, why should possession of an aesthetic sense have anything to do with your manhood level? Really, the question I want people to ask themselves is why should this view exist. Does it make any sense? Why shouldn't a man appreciate flowers? Well, I'm talking about mainstream opinions, and, you know, the mainstream tends to be, um, retarded.
So, this gets me to thinking about other general opinions in respect to the male gender role. Example: tea is considered by many to be somewhat effeminate. Just how was this conclusion reached? Folks, it's a beverage. Apparently, coffee is the way to go. Well, fine and dandy. Poetry, of course, has some pretty widely held stereotypes and associations. Why should that be? Who knows.
Cats? A guy is seen by many as a little peculiar if he likes cats. Dogs = man's best friend. It is generally considered pretty masculine for a group of guys to be sitting around with a case of Coors watching a football game. It just so happens that this type of activity sometimes leads one to the corner of Obesity Avenue and Impotence Lane: and, those things aren't so manly. I don't know. Cats, tea, poetry, flowers... an interest or love or passion for these things seems to make your manhood questionable. Okay, you win. When does hunting season start? I'm going to get my buck this year!
Kemal Faruquee studied literature at City College and NYU. He currently lives in Pennsylvania where he writes books, makes paintings, develops websites, and runs Creative Memories and a Teen Poems Website.
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