Macho
Chicks
I pulled up at a stop light in my hometown the other day. After the stop light, two lanes merge into one.As I sat there, a big red jeep pulled up next to me. The driver looked me over. My eyeballs swiveled behind my Ray-Bans. She was about 17.
The light changed, and there was a screech of Goodyear rubber on asphalt as the jeep took off. She was obviously determined to beat me away from the light.
Hey! What's up? I'm a 45 year-old white guy in a beat-up '72 Dodge Dart, a car hardly renowned for its quick getaway. Do I pose that much of a threat to ANYONE?
The jeep driver reminded me of a former girlfriend.
Having lived in Los Angeles, she eschewed the use of seatbelts. I felt like a wimp when I buckled-up in her car. Driving with her was a bit hair-raising. One hand on the wheel, the other holding a cigarette, her eyes would take in the road about 30% of the time as she drifted from lane to lane, casually ignoring the posted 55mph speed limit. Thank God a Honda Del Sol is not a car renowned for its performance.
The last I heard, she was hankering after a Ford Bronco...
She also owned a gun.
I guess that's one of the reasons she's an ex-girlfriend.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a European, and we habitually drive at much higher speeds than 55 mph. And I've been around guns quite a lot - usually the wrong end - due to an extensive sojourn in the Middle East.
There seems to be a need amongst certain young women to emulate some of the worse aspects of machismo (a largely misunderstood concept in North America). The swaggering gait, the language, the 'in-your-face-don't fuck-with-me-buddy' attitude, gun possession, aggressive driving. And so on.
I find it rather sad. We men have done a terrible job of shaping a humane, just and compassionate world. I have often argued that we should give women a stab at running the place - they certainly couldn't do a worse job, and the chances of their doing a better one are very high indeed.
And yet, as soon as women start to make social, economic and political progress (albeit haltingly and in small increments), a goup of women appear who seems determined to ape the very worst in male behavior.
I don't think it does anyone any good.
| Mail || Writings |
© FeNiX 1996