So I've been trying to get myself to contribute in my Gender forum but the sheer volume of posts in that blasted thing is overwhelming, hence I've given up and gone on to browse through all the fashion blogs that I'd neglected over the past few months. I feel slightly better now but I just accidentally chipped my freshly painted nails and I feel slightly annoyed.
Hmm.
On Saturday morning I caught the ending of
Bridget Jones' Diary on the telly, and I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. It's a combination of the British accent, her self-deprecating attitude, Colin Firth, and ... sweetness I suppose. Haven't watched romance stories and happy endings for quite some time.
On Saturday night I caught another film,
Like Crazy - it's also a romantic drama film, but it left me feeling quite differently from how the former did. The film had a vaguely nostalgic and whimsical feel about it, and I was left feeling very lost and.. empty by the end of it.
I felt really sad that I, staying in Singapore, I didn't get to date someone the way that the two protagonists did. Sitting on the greens by the park, late night coffee dates, beach side slumping around, flying from the States to Britain... Living with your significant other, waking up to him every morn. I've friends overseas who live such lives. Somehow staying in Singapore limits the ways people can date each other. Things don't seem as romantic.
I got into a discussion with B about girls, boys, and floorball. I first said that my female senior was really good at floorball, and I was amazed the first time I saw her play. He replied, saying that very few girls play floorball, hence it's really easy for girls to appear good at playing floorball. I got pretty mad, saying that that's the sort of gender stereotypes that cause some girls to feel as if they ought not to even try playing sports, which then reinforces the fact that fewer females excel at sports, of which is then provided as "proof" that males are better than females at sports. He then said that it's just natural for guys to be more adept at sports - "If you throw a ball at any guy he'd just catch it, rather than a girl who most probably wouldn't". Out popped several images of quite a number of girls in my mind who would definitely catch a ball when thrown one, and probably whack it back at any guy who'd think otherwise. I then said it's an unfair thing to say, and he relented a little and said that it's the majority of guys who're better at sports. I then concluded our discussion by saying that I refuse to partake in such generalisations and think that the majority represents everyone because that is unfair, and I was brought up to be more critical than that.
Upon reaching home though, I realised I was being just as much of an ass as he was, because I was generalising the experiences of Western couples' lives. For sure, not all couples have such.. whimsical lifestyles. And it's not fair for me to generalise. I was being a hypocrite.
Singaporeans -- it wouldn't be fair for me to put everyone who's a citizen of this country into a group as well, but for blogging's sake -- are able to have romantic dates and well, whimsy lives. It's just that they're moulded to fit the kind of life that we would be able to have. Maybe there isn't a house on the beach, nor a ferris wheel in the background, but we make do. How many times have you stolen a kiss from someone at the void deck? Or just walking to school on those long sheltered pathways with your significant other at unearthly hours...
I don't think I'm making any sense in this entry. Really.
When we get taught what we taught in our classes, it may get depressing. One's preconceived notions of how the world is, and how the world should be, are broken down slowly, bit by bit. Well it may not be fair to generalise and stereotype, but it's how we as humans make sense of our world - with categories. I think I ought not get so stressed out about coming across as perpetuating gender stereotypes or any sort of stereotypes but instead, as a student of Arts, be more aware of my position in the world, and understand how my lived-in experiences have caused me to think the way I am. Also, I've to be more receptive to people's opinions and try to understand where they're coming from.
Aiya I don't know what I'm writing man. I'm just getting very tired of being shot down by so many people around me who have no faith in what I'm studying. If it's a very small matter, if people aren't racist, if people aren't sexist, then why is there still so much inequality in the world?
.
Very unrelated here is a track that I really like for its bass.
Goodbye, now.
Labels: dating, early morning type, notion of romance, of romance, sociology, thoughts, what is love, what school does to me
