9) We wear each others pants in this relationship

Sure, men and women both wear pants, but the fits are completely different. Men’s pants are generally more formless and baggy, while women’s pants usually accentuate curves. Although under these generalities, clothing companies have further compartmentalized, to appeal to a wider range of consumer niches. On the Levi website alone, men can get “relaxed,” “slim,” and “bootcut” jeans. Women can get “flare,” “skinny,” and “low-rise” jeans, among others.

Nowadays, however, clothes long-established for one specific gender are being “made available” to the other. For instance, males within certain music subcultures are known to wear “girl pants.” Girls are now also being marketed to, with “boyfriend jeans.” What does this say about our societal norms for clothing? We expect men to wear their “own” clothes and women to wear their “own” clothes. But when they do go outside of these norms, it’s somehow special enough to get its own label.

This really just further proves how arbitrary the conventions of femininity and masculinity really are. If you can be feminine just from wearing girl pants, or masculine from boyfriend pants, isn’t the whole thing a charade? If you stripped away all the feminine skirts, the masculine cologne, and the now-androgynous girl and boyfriend pants, what would you have? Are these people really inherently masculine or feminine, or does it mostly stem from material possessions? What it all comes down to, in the minds of those buying the clothes, is “who do I want to be today?” Though it seems like it may be blurring the lines between the genders, fashion has just become another way to perpetuate gender stereotypes, by marketing femininity and masculinity.

8) Here's to You, Mrs. Robinson

"And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray"

We all know the song by Simon & Garfunkel. It turns out this song was actually made for a film classic from the 1960's called The Graduate. Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) is a middle-aged woman who tries to seduce her neighbor's son, college graduate Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman). She makes him drive her home. Then he must come into the house with her because she doesn't like to be alone. Then he must go upstairs and unzip her dress because she can't reach. You get the idea. Benjamin was pretty shy guy and was very hesitant to do any of the things she wanted. At the end of the night, nothing happens and Benjamin leaves, feeling very confused about what has just happened.

Some time later, however, Benjamin gives Mrs. Robinson a call. They go to a hotel and begin their summer fling. After a couple months, things aren't going the way Mrs. Robinson plans and she threatens Benjamin. He moves on with his life and Mrs. Robinson tells everyone that he raped her. No one questions what she may have actually done and Benjamin is automatically deemed "filth."

Is this situation representative of a larger trend in modern society? In any situation in which a man and a woman come to blows, no matter their relationship, isn't it true that there often tends to be a certain bias against the man? Can it so easily be assumed that under any circumstances, the man is more likely at fault? Mrs. Robinson is the one who assertively initiated the situation. She is the one who put even the idea of an affair in Benjamin's mind. Yet, she is infallible. If she says she was raped, then she undoubtedly was. Forget the fact that Benjamin was an honors student and a virgin. If she says it, it happened. I cannot imagine the kind of trouble Mr. Robinson would get in if he fooled around with a younger woman...

7) Deputy Punches Girl on Video.

The headline reads, “Deputy Punches Girl on Video.” This incident was revealed through a released surveillance video, in which a 15-year-old girl is put into a holding cell. As the deputy walks out, she kicks off one of her shoes at him. At this, the male deputy loses control, first slamming her against a wall, then pulling her to the ground by her hair and punching her repeatedly while she’s pinned down.

This was undoubtedly an extreme overreaction and the man really deserves whatever charges are placed against him. Though, I cannot help but wonder if this story was given such media attention (enough to be on AOL’s front page) because it depicted a male suppressing a female. Would this even have been brought to anyone’s attention if the victim were another male? What if a female deputy had done the same to a male or female victim? I think that in such a case, the deputy would be seen as defending herself. It seems that, for some reason, our brains are programmed to react much more strongly to a man harming another woman, than a man harming another man, or a woman harming anyone. Then again, there’s that unwritten rule that men don’t hit women.

This brings a recent event to mind. About three weeks ago, R&B superstar Chris Brown allegedly beat his also famous girlfriend Rihanna, to the point where she had heavy facial bruising, a split lip, bite marks, and swelling. She has rightfully received plenty of sympathy, because no one deserves that. But I wonder if, hypothetically, Rihanna had attacked Chris, who according to the “no hitting girls” golden rule did nothing, would he get any sympathy? Think about it, a woman beats up a man. There is no way he’d get any kind of consolation from the public. He would be endlessly ridiculed and laughed at because it’s “shameful” for a man to be overpowered physically by a women. Then why is no one laughing about Rihanna's situation? Once again, there are double standards and gender stereotypes involved with even something like this.