“You Guys & small pocket jeans are two blogs that fit into the fun category, but are also very serious. They both address the issue of how women are perceived in today’s western culture and, increasingly, in other, more traditional, cultures. I am also being harassed by my partner to make sure I include these two topics in my blog postings. Harassed, I might add, for perfectly good reasons. The first is the issue of the word “guys”.
Addressing all people in a group as “guys” has become common in Western culture. Even addressing a male/female couple in a restaurant as “you guys” seems to be the norm these days. Addressing single females on their own as a “guy” is also commonplace.
I can understand that it’s a shallow attempt to promote equality among the sexes, but my partner and I feel it is an insult to females and, to some extent, I feel it is an insult to me as well.
To state the obvious, females are different from males, and lumping them together in an attempt at generic political correctness is short-sighted and, I believe, detrimental to the “MeToo” movement, and an insult to females in general.
Equality does not have to mean homogeneity. That is obviously impossible anyway, and the result would be boring. We should be celebrating the differences, as well as fighting for equality on more fundamental issues.
I am reminded of an old “Bob Hope” joke. When asked what he thought of the women’s equality movement, he replied that he didn’t understand it at all. “Why?” he asked, “would they want to give up all that power?” Funny, but true!
I suggest we start a campaign to eliminate this stupidity from the language, along with the totally useless expressions people use at the end of their verbal sentences like “you know”, “you know what I mean”, and the really idiotic and nonsensical word that seems to have become an integral part of all conversations, and even part of every sentence uttered, particularly amongst the younger population. That word is “LIKE”. It adds absolutely nothing to the communication, and is the equivalent to a stutter. Maybe promoting the idea that it’s a stutter is a great way to start its elimination from everyday speech.
Time to get off my soapbox on that one!
The second blog has to do with women’s jeans. I am obviously using second-hand knowledge, because I don’t own any myself!
It has been reported to me that virtually all women’s jeans have very shallow pockets – almost no pocket at all – perhaps three inches deep at best. Why?
It must be economics, but how much can a couple of inches of material cost? Over thousands of pairs of jeans, quite a lot, I imagine. It is also interesting to note that it apparently doesn’t occur in the manufacture of men’s jeans.
It is a slap in the face to women, and a cause that definitely needs promotion and support. The fact that I had absolutely no idea this issue existed is probably part of the problem. Men don’t know this. At least the ones outside of the garment industry.
Someone must actually design “Useless Pockets” for women’s jeans so those people must be hunted down and coerced into changing their designs.
Please spread the word! “You Guys” & small pocket jeans deserve more attention.
I agree wholeheartedly Mr Court with all you say, and the transference of the teaching of the English language from the classroom to an illiterate person who is the world’s mouthpiece for language and called Mr Google.
Mr Google also teaches the “uneducated”, who think they are, and who have to pause because they can’t think a sentence, hence er, you know, think, like and the classic non-meaning anything now used universally by commentators, journalists and so-called intelligentsia “off of”. No matter which way you look at it or however it is dissected into correct English it translates into the well known English of f….k all. So much for university education.
It is well known in scientific and biological circles that male and female jeans are entirely different, and the female of the jean has little to play with in long pockets.
Thank you for the insight on small pocket jeans. I have never thought about this, but upon reading this post, it occurred to me how irritated I am with the pockets in my jeans!!!
I am also somewhat fearful that I am the inspiration for the remainder of the article! “You guys” slips out of my mouth about as often as “you know what I mean?” YIKES!!!!!!
Thanks Suzanne. One of my other readers (English, with that particular sense of humour) suggested that only men have longer pockets because they have something to play with!!!!