Mr. Mayer's Gender Lesson

If you'll remember, I have this weird prickly thing about the social stigma differences on girls verses boys. So yeah, I am a little quick to jump when I hear or see something that offends me in that area. A song I have not been able to escape is Daughters by John Mayer. It has been played to death as popular radio stations tend to do. Ah homogeneity; isn't it grand? But aside from that annoyance, there is a section of the song I just can't get over. I appreciate most of what he's saying. Treat your daughters well Dads. Have care that what you do affects them and that they carry that into their other relationships. I appreciate that he sees women as having "good good hearts" and all that. But one stanza really gets me. Peruse for yourselves:

Boys, you can break
You'll find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without the warmth from
A woman's good, good heart

So boys you can break hm? Just treat them however so that they will be "tough?" I guess they don't carry that on into other relationships. Besides, they'll just be strong and soldier on? Oh that's right, boys have the special genitalia that allows them to deal with pain and hardship, unlike girls. But oh wait, girls are the ones who bear those boys and isn't that a bit of a challenge?

Hmph. I know I'm being a little bit curmudgeonly here, but seriously - I get from this that girls are sweet and soft and should be treated with kid gloves and boys are rough and tumble and should show a stiff upper lip no matter what you do to them. Looking at his romantic history, it strikes me that Mr. Mayer may need to revise his perspective.

Sorry. The annoyance with this has been building for a long, long time. Had to get it out.
'Til later,
FCiF

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