An Increase In Rabidity

Haven't had much to say lately. I've been busy with work. And as a friend pointed out, it's hard to rant against the subtle effects of the patriarchy in western culture when you're faced with news of the Middle East imploding :(

Anyway. This is something that's been on my mind lately. When I was younger I used to think that men and women were really different in their actions and thoughts, and that those differences had to be respected equally. But these days (ever since my feminists epiphany) I have the impression that men and women are essentially the same and should be treated as equals. And my change in thought makes me wonder if I've become a more rabid kind of feminist somehow. Seriously. Back in the day I said something like "Women can't do the same things as men, but that's okay because women are just as good as men." Now I'm more likely to say "Of course women can do everything men do!! FUCK YOU! RARR!"

I guess my problem is that I've become less tolerant of gender roles. I used to have no problem thinking something like: "Yeah, women are more emotional and men are more courageous." But now I think logic like that is bullshit. It comes from the fact that someplace somewhere on the web, I read the sentence "The differences within the sexes is greater than the differences between the sexes." That statement really stuck with me. And now I can't look at scientific research articles that talk about differences in brain activity between men and women without screaming "LIES! SECRETS AND LIES!" Sometimes I think that the media (and culture in general) like to talk about (and exaggerate) how women and men are different at their very cores. But I don't think they are. I just think we've been socialized to act different. Mostly. I'm a scientific and logical person by nature, and I can't ignore good scientific studies that show that, yes, there are some psycho-genetic differences between men and women. I don't quite trust those studies yet, but I can't ignore them either.