"It would be odd to say that I was upholding this division simply because I referred to a division that already existed in my response. You might say to me, hey Dan you shouldn't ever talk about boozers nor stoners, those are made up categories... you just be you."
Hmm, this is a pretty flawed analogy I think. Wouldn't the equivalent be, …
"It would be odd to say that I was upholding this division simply because I referred to a division that already existed in my response. You might say to me, hey Dan you shouldn't ever talk about boozers nor stoners, those are made up categories... you just be you."
Hmm, this is a pretty flawed analogy I think. Wouldn't the equivalent be, "Sorry, I don't 'man'"?
When you say you don't drink, you're referring to a specific activity and saying you don't engage in that activity (nobody even assumes you literally don't drink, we know you're talking about alcohol). If you choose never to drink alcohol, you are not a "drinker."
But if you say you're not a man, despite being an adult human male, what are you saying? What aspect of your behaviour or self is disqualifying you from this category? After all, being a man is not a specific activity. Or an activity at all.
I am a man. I don't like getting drunk or watching sports. I'm comfortable talking about my emotions. I think fighting is stupid and immature. Whether or not I choose to engage in activities stereotypically associated with "manliness," I'm still a man. So if I say "I'm not a man because I don't like sports and getting drunk," I'm saying, by implication, that men are supposed to do these things. This is what I mean by reinforcing the stereotype.
"It would be odd to say that I was upholding this division simply because I referred to a division that already existed in my response. You might say to me, hey Dan you shouldn't ever talk about boozers nor stoners, those are made up categories... you just be you."
Hmm, this is a pretty flawed analogy I think. Wouldn't the equivalent be, "Sorry, I don't 'man'"?
When you say you don't drink, you're referring to a specific activity and saying you don't engage in that activity (nobody even assumes you literally don't drink, we know you're talking about alcohol). If you choose never to drink alcohol, you are not a "drinker."
But if you say you're not a man, despite being an adult human male, what are you saying? What aspect of your behaviour or self is disqualifying you from this category? After all, being a man is not a specific activity. Or an activity at all.
I am a man. I don't like getting drunk or watching sports. I'm comfortable talking about my emotions. I think fighting is stupid and immature. Whether or not I choose to engage in activities stereotypically associated with "manliness," I'm still a man. So if I say "I'm not a man because I don't like sports and getting drunk," I'm saying, by implication, that men are supposed to do these things. This is what I mean by reinforcing the stereotype.