The Male Psyche and the Female Variable

It's a well-known and obvious fact that there are many differences between a man and woman in both mind and body. These gaps throw a psychological kink into the biological template for both sexes, setting up roadblocks in the emotional battleground overrun by hormones that each person must overcome. The fight is fierce and seemingly never ending, which can lead to some odd solutions brought about by desperation or too much of a defensive mindset, as shown in Susan Faludi's "The Naked Citadel." However, as Lila Abu-Lughod shows in "Honor and Shame" and as portrayed in Osama, sometimes a person's situation is dictated by the surrounding environment, and breaking out of a centuries-old mold is at all easy.

High school is the first step to manhood; a male develops his relationship skills and receives a crash course in the world of women. But it can be filled with heartbreak and disappointment as well. Being a guy who knew what he was looking for in a girl, I was discretionary and caught a lot of flak from guy friends for never going out with anyone. My situation was tilted against me; I didn't know interested females that fulfilled what I was looking for, but my friends were forcing me to adopt a defensive mindset in relation to my social life. Just because I didn't have a "target" or someone to "chase after" like a dog, I was often the butt of jokes and teased. Even though I knew it was light-hearted and (usually) in good taste, it still stung having my lack of "accomplishment" thrown back in my face. This kind of mentality makes it so much harder to view women in the same way as men-they become de-humanized and made into a prize through such impersonal words, simply because the male culture has made them out as such.