The difference in males and females didn’t interest me much until about 1960, when I hit the age of 10. We were living in Okinawa and I developed a fascination with a classmate named Joanne Kaneshiro. Joanne was cute as hell, dressed well for a kid that age and possessed a confident way about her that captivated me. She was also smart enough to keep boys out of her realm, preferring the company of other girls who shared her aptitudes. Sex wasn’t on my radar scope, just the allure of cute, cuddly and totally aloof. I had no idea this fascination would follow me my entire life, providing some wonderful memories and, being fair, same damned tough times as well.
Enter the ‘60’s and my fascination took a dramatic turn. It was then I understood why the Master made boys and girls different and equipped us with mean little glands producing testosterone and estrogen with a few other hormones thrown in. It has been a whirlwind since. In High School I was truly thankful, in Biblical terms, for the differences between a man and a women. I was fascinated by baseball, fast cars and pretty girls , and not necessarily in that order. The laws of nature be damned, I knew full well that fastball, belt high, down the middle, to a good hitter, was gonna lose you a baseball over the fence. I knew there was always a faster car out there when you slipped out onto I-44 and paired them off in an illegal “speed contest upon a public highway”, and that pretty girls could play hell with your judgement and previously established course in life. I outgrew baseball, quit street racing when I entered the Army and am still confounded by the mystery of the female mind and allure. That is as it has always been.
The point is this. In the golden age of sexual politics, we knew who the players were. With rare exception, I could readily identify the closest human being as a male or female. Sexual aberrations existed, but tended to stay within the lanes. Males were males and females were females. Today, you are going to get your ass in a crack (so to speak) by prejudging gender by appearance. As an example, I try to compliment people that I interact with, which sets a nice tone for the interaction. We drove through one of the myriad of coffee purveyors last week, and the comely young roadside barista had really gorgeous nails and other wise seemed to comport to the standards of an attractive young lady. I complimented her on her nails, and in return in a distinctly male baritone voice, HE thanked me. I was stunned…….she was, at some point, a he and I assumed otherwise. Sharon smiled, sensing my disbelief, and as we drove off reminded me to never assume when it comes to sexuality. I like the old days better, when I, beyond a reasonable doubt, knew what or who in the hell I was dealing with.
It is complicated out there and I am getting old. It is not fair to challenge a 70+ old man with sexual ambiguity. I still admire a confident, attractive lady at any age, but don’t need the added responsibility of establishing gender in an effort to rely on the appropriate pronoun when addressing them. To the ladies before this confusing era, who were proud of their gender, God bless you. To the gender shifting folks that have become popular today, my apologies. I was relying on old, reliable science when I made the assumptions that are sure to offend you. Now I have this to worry about!
Have a great week!
SR
srj641 