Complex Numbers

Revisited: "Nonbinary"

As regulars know, I do these retrospectives, in part, to see what's changed about the world and in me since the original post. Usually, I don't find my attitude much different. That's not really the case with this entry from February of 2020: "Nonbinary" 

Today's thing is a bit different from usual: a gender-issues retrospective from a male homo sapiens.

For starters, I cringe at "different from."

The article   in question, from 2018, is still up at this time, but I didn't re-read most of it.

Not only is the weight issue a pressing thing for many men, but I avoid online dating specifically because most of the women on there specify 6' or taller.

That's actually not the only reason I avoid online dating. But I wonder what some of these women's reaction would be to a man who requires "natural D-cup or larger only." Not great, I'd imagine.

I can do something about my weight, and I am.

Turned out I couldn't, so I stopped trying.

Can't do anything about my height.

Since then, I've seen pieces about some kind of surgery that puts extenders in your leg bones to make you taller. The surgery isn't risk-free, and from all accounts, it's painful with a fairly long recovery time. Not worth it, in my book.

We desperately need "accept yourself as you are" messages, but there's no money in that, so instead we're stuck with "you're just not good enough, but if you buy my crap, you'll finally be satisfied." (Spoiler alert: you'll never be satisfied.)

What's height got to do with anything besides blocking the people behind you in the theater?

I recently read an article in which some vapid lady expressed a desire to be "swept off her feet" both literally and physically, and apparently that could only be done by a 6'+ man? Okay, well, I wouldn't be interested in her, either.

I have to admit, as an aside, that I find it hard to see the whole "gender is a social construct" thing. I mean, yes, certain aspects of it are, in my view, but they're mostly superficial things: a particular style of haircut, wearing bigger watches (if one wears a watch at all these days), a lack of makeup.

Since then, I've come around more to to that point of view.

Basically, if something is a social construct, the social construct can be changed.

I stand by the "can be," but I recognize that those things take time, often longer than a human lifespan.

One of the greatest failings of modern society, I think, is this "binary" myth.

Standing by this statement, too. I've railed on binary thinking many times since then. And no, this isn't limited to the male/female binary; I think Netflix jumped the shark, for example, when it removed star ratings in favor of Siskel and Ebert style thumbs. But, lest anyone be confused by the entry's title, this sort of thing is what it referred to.

But still, my views have evolved somewhat. One thing, though, that I hope never changes about me:

And everyone deserves basic human dignity and rights (at least until they prove themselves unworthy of such by their actions), regardless of what pigeonhole you or society says they belong in.

I trust that's clear enough.