This post isn't about gender. It's just an off-the-cuff observation about a show I happen to be enjoying right now that relates to other sociological fields, like class and religion. It's not being submitted in any of my roundups.

I don't follow what you're saying. I wasn't offering a solution. I was just making an observation and comparing it to the lessons I've learned through sociology courses in the past two years.

Timeline B, the Past, aka EVERYTHING THESE SOCIOLOGY COURSES HAVE TAUGHT ME ABOUT HOW WE GOT HERE. I know that women's advances towards equality have been criminally slow, but I never considered the collaborators/traitors among them colluding with men so that they may guide their efforts.

Timeline A, the Present: the current white patriarchal collaborators have more power than ever and are actively ruining the lives of anyone who isn't rich by firing federal employees across the board and revoking prescription price caps for those using Medicare or Medicaid.

On the plus side, at least everyone doesn't lie about what it entails to be Hollywoodily beautiful. Actors like Dave Bautista and Rob McElhenney have been very vocal about the dangers of achieving the certain body weights, with Rob admitting he couldn't have done it without a personal trainer.

Not only would the icon have to deal with the physical strains of consistent procedures, but also the emotional toll of feeling that they NEED~ to do these things to feel good or loved is soul-crushing. Letting fans feel bad about themselves bc they compare themselves to their lie is evil.

I 100% agree that lying to one's fans about having surgical work done to their bodies in order to claim they're simply a natural, ageless beauty is harmful not only to the fans, but also the icon. By sticking to their lie, they're committing themselves to routine procedures until they die or fess up

On the the hand, there's Andrew Tate, the poster boy for what stereotypical masculinity should be. Everything he says and does is an embarrassment, yet he still has his platform where young, troubled, men go to have their insecurities validated. He should not have a voice that reaches so many.

Here's the rub: the people who were meant to teach me, failed me. My father failed me for implying violence may be the answer. My school failed me by brainwashing me into believing my anger was my fault by placing me into "anger management" classes. The society that pushed those ideals failed me.

I never gave into the temptation, and I'm happy that I didn't, but there's always a part of me that wonders what if? What if I used the rage that the school injected me with daily to make that P.O.S. feel an ounce of my pain? Would Batman rules apply? Would I be able to come back from that?

I felt like Anakin when I was a kid, with my father playing the role of Palpatine. See, I had a bully, and I f***ing hate(d) him. My father recognized that, and it hurt him to see me hurt, so he gave me his blessing to physically express my frustrations with fists of justice.

When a set of parents grow up to have no faith in the public school system, where do they send their children? Well, in Louisiana, they send them to private, Catholic schools, where the children are socialized into believing that they need to embrace gender roles.

But it's not just the parents who are to blame for trying to instill horribly misguided values onto their children, because they, too, are products of a society THAT CAN'T EVEN DECIDE WHAT THEY VALUE ANYMORE (whoops anger incoming).

They'll either hate those who aren't masculine as he's been taught to be, they'll hate the parent who tried to instill those values onto them, or they'll hate themselves for not reaching the level of "manly" that their parents want them to be. They will have no relationship with the "feminine."

There's a genuine concern that if they express themselves too much, they'll lose work opportunities, especially now that we have a President who is hellbent on demonizing everyone who isn't cis, white, and straight. His actions enable others in power to follow his example.

I wouldn't boil it down to a fear of not looking "manly" enough. It'd be one thing if they were legally protected to express themselves as they wish without fear of losing their jobs over it, but that isn't the case.

For better and for worse, television does influence behaviors of developing minds. Shows can feature its characters acting immorally because they're usually written in a way that tells the audience "this behavior is bad." But if the writing doesn't clarify that, issues can occur.

Representation matters EVERYWHERE. Keeping children blind to lifestyle choices outside of the socialized gender norms instills the idea that they're taboo. To have a positive, professional educator show that men can express femininity like it's not a big deal is a literal gift to that school.