Average.

Whats inspired me to write this blog, you ask? Well I've just received my leaving cert results. I got 365 points, It's not bad, It's pretty average. I was applying to a course that was fairly common and the points may not be quiet enough. But that's besides what I'm gonna talk about.

Ever since I was a young child, In my mind I've always thought to myself, I'm gonna do something amazing. I'm gonna be remembered. I want a lot of money and lots of friends and fame, The high life you know? But lately I've been thinking, I'm not all that special. I'm not extremely intelligent, Not dazzlingly beautiful looking. I'm somewhat creative with clothes, But theres always someone who's better than me. You get the general gist, I'm not gonna say more cuz I might create some sort of inferior complex within myself haha.

My point is, I'm average. So many people out there are average. Very few people achieve great things in life, But we all leave behind our memory with someone. That's the beautiful thing about humanity. We're all essentially the same, There are no elite, There are no underlings. We're all gonna end up the same way, dead. It may sound bleak, but at least we each get to live on this planet, share things with each other and enjoy simple things for the time we're here.

I'm becoming to feel comfortable with being average, because it's not something to be ashamed of in actuality.

Then again, The idea of leading the "high life" is amazing. To get there however one may need to be ruthless, step on others and fight for it. The whole femme fatale thing springs to mind when I think of that. Yes, It may be glamorous, but it is also lonely. To achieve that may be great, but at the same time, You will one day simply die. Is it better to have enjoyed spending time with loved ones during the short time we each have, or to chase your dreams and perhaps not have anyone left in the end of the process? Fame fades, Love remains.

So, in summary what I'm saying is that I'm not going to take life so seriously, because in the end, I'm not gonna make it out alive.

That's so gay.

We hear it everywhere. It's rapidly becoming a hugely popular phrase/adjective/whatever. I'm even guilty of using it myself. Yes the phrase "That's so gay" is common and seemingly harmless.

A lot of close friends and family of mine use it and I wouldn't mind, But in my opinion it subconsciously spreads homophobia, For which I have strong hate.

The way I see it is, Saying something is gay, for instance "That woman's hat is so gay" negatively uses the word gay. It is obviously incorrect to use gay to describe something like a hat as gay, as hats are inanimate objects, They do not have sexualities. But saying that it is "gay" to express how they don't like it, subconsciously is homophobic as it uses gay to describe something they don't like, Therefore expressing gay as a bad thing.

Is it really that difficult to use words like "awful", "terrible" or "ugly"?

People use the word "gay" to describe things and it shows how unvaried our vocabulary is. People have one word to describe something negatively these days and they don't realize the harm it causes. It's simply just ignorant and incorrect.

People; Use another word.

But that's for girls.

In this blog I'm going to address gender stereotyping.

What is gender stereotyping?
It is the exagerated and one sided images of men and women, deployed constantly in everyday life.
Meaning Men should be "Macho" and Women should be "Soft and pretty".

I cannot express how much this FUCKING angers me.
(yes swearing weakens an argument, but this is to emphasise how much it really FUCKING angers me.)

I think it really applies to men, The tom-boy image of women has become socially acceptable at this stage, Women no longer need to wear dresses and make up to prove that they are women..within reason. Some women don't get off so easily..

We see it everywhere, In movies, In the papers and on TV.
It's not just the media, It's in everyday, ordinary life.
Lets take perfumes for example, They usually say either "pour homme" or "pour femme". Just because it might be "for" the other gender, does not make it so. Perfume is a genderless inanimate object, it is not "for" a gender, it is "for" PEOPLE to smell nice.

How about people who live inside the safe familiar bounds of their gender and do it cautiously and religiously. In a situation that may threaten their macho image. Lets take going out to na club/pub for example. These men fear that going with a group of women would threaten their macho portrayal of themselves and would portray them as "a gay best friend". First of all there is nothing wrong with being gay, whatsoever, But thats beside the point, It's that they fear the opinions of others. It's that going out with only girls will make others think "he must be gay". It's rediculous, It doesn't mean anything, It is what it is, going out with friends, not a trial.

Genderstereotyping applies mostly to people who are transgender or transvestite. There seems to be a huge social stigma to them. It seems to be because of the portray of what a man or woman should be. But what exactly "should they be"?

Society has become nothing more than genres/categories/boxes that people should fit into. If people don't fit in to these ornate categories people get upset and angry.

This attitude needs change. This world needs change. The world and society are underconstruction and the due date for completion is approximately 2000 and never. If people perhaps open their minds to things outside of the social "norm" then maybe things could finally fit in to place. Viewing others as "wierd" due to their appearences and actions is like a disease, It influences the opinions of others and it makes things get worse.

If social "norms" were to be broken down, If discrimination and hate were to be abolished, then perhaps love and peace could ensue.
What is needed is relent to tackle these ideologies that affect the happiness of others.

Genderstereotyping is part of the list of injustices, There is so many injustices that need to be fixed, brick by boring brick. There is still hope for this world.

The first of many.

Well, This is my first ever official blog. :)

I've been writing in a personal diary for over two years at this stage, Touching on public issues and the likes, But it's only me that reads the diaries so I feel I need to broaden my ventures. Despite the fact that I'm probably going to be the only person reading the blogs I post. Mind you, I've just seen "The Secret" maybe I'll just control the universe by the power of desire and train of thought.

So a little bit about myself, I'm pretty much like anyone else really. My interests range from Fashion to Feminism to Social Unjust to Music to Having fun to Philosophy, Oh the list is endless, If anybody is bothered to read what I post, they shall be able to deduce their own opinions. :)

I'm bang in the middle of my leaving cert exams at the moment, They're going alright to be frank. But I've only finished the easy ones. Next week.. Oooh it shall be fun. But yes, After I finish that I hope to write more and more on this. My main desire in life is to write write write till I have in the words of John Keats "gleaned my teeming brain". So as you can guess, I want to be a journalist, what better way to start but with blogging. :)

Well thats all for now, I'll post a more formal blog next time. :)