"Being Different is Not OK"

[merystic]

...that's the message that is consistently delivered to me and the rest of the population courtesy of society.

I'm going to take a minute to grouse about this because it's a tough issue with me, I guess. I got on this topic by watching the following video, a Tide commercial:

Click to view

The premise is this: a pert and pretty mom is sitting in her immaculate

Comments

[frenchpresser]

I won't go on about how I was treated as a kid for being different. It sucked, but I found ways to deal with it. Nobody fucks with me now, but it absolutely enrages me when I hear about people I know getting treated like how you're describing. It's really painful and angering for me to see society silently pigeonholing girls who have short hair, wear boots, or "guyish" clothes as being dykes or unfashionable or ugly or weird. As a guy, I find that kind of style to be really attractive and interesting on women... Short hair is super cute and fun to nuzzle and ruffle on a girl, boots are sexy as hell, and man, don't get me started on how sexy it is to see a pair of cargos hanging stylishly low on some nice lady hips. I fucking despise guys who talk shit to girls for dressing differently, and I even more hate catty women who passive aggressively bully other girls for their choice of dress and hairstyle. God, it makes me want to hurt people. I have no tolerance for this kind of petty shit.

[keovi]

I don't dress nearly as boyishly as I used to, but back in high school, I began to experiment wildly with my clothing, and wearing what I actually wanted to. I'd never cared at all what I wore before hand, and just wore whatever my parents bought me. I never felt comfortable with myself, though, and dressing in a way that actually resonated with me worked wonders for my self-confidence. Big baggy pants, stompy boots, and army jackets are what made me feel like I could actually be myself, and while I can't say it made me any less unpopular at school, once I started accepting myself and having fun, other people started accepting me--I was the only kid (boy OR girl) who dressed this way at my private, religious high school, but once I started doing what felt natural and became less shy as a result, people at least treated me politely and included me, even if we never became buddies

[undyingwavesong]

I had to go to a catholic-style school growing up, so we had to wear dresses. It sucked. I would wear baggy pants, dude t-shirts (fellas do indeed get the coolest stuff on their shirts), hoodies (even if it was hot out), stuff like that, when I wasn't in school.

Now I enjoy dresses again as an adult, among other "girly" things. I also still enjoy "boyish" things.

I'm also sad that pink is considered a girly color. It is pretty, especially in sunsets / sunrises.

[undyingwavesong]

Ooohh, interesting! The more I know. XD

[aerinl]

I personally read that as making fun more of the mother than the child initially., but as soon as she sarted talking, eugh.

IT'S BAD TO BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE IT'S NOT NORMAL >:|

*hoodies tees and cargos go*

[redcoatcat]

Well to be honest I can't stand most all advertising of ALL laundry related materials due to the fact they stereotype the stay-at-home mom. I've almost never seen a commercial that shows a male doing a very non gender role in society.

It's only sexist to women it's also sexist to men. I know a lot of men that do their own or their families laundry so why they don't update this in marketing is beyond me.