Definitions:
Inverted Gender Analysis - This is one story, told two different ways. The only difference between them is the gender role dynamics are reversed.
This is meant to cause a conversation on how people’s opinions on situations can be drastically different due to the gender dynamics involved.
When you have read both:
- Did you feel the same or different about the characters and themes?
- Did one or both seem unrealistic?
- If so, why?
- Did you find yourself siding with the same gender in both situations?
Misandry - is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against men or boys.
Misogyny - is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls.
Version 1 Starts Here
The gym’s two owners, Paula and Mary, approached Timmy and asked if he would stay a few minutes after class as there's something they wanted to talk to him about.
Timmy had a slight idea of what they wanted to talk about and it turned out he was right. He had gone through this since he started puberty.
Paula started the conversation by saying:
“You are a great member and liked by everybody. But there is something about you that is causing a problem with the female members. Some of the younger women are very intimidated and scared. It is giving them great anxiety. They don't feel safe. A few of them mentioned that this was a good example of toxic masculinity and their gym was no place for it.
We are afraid some of them may not renew their memberships.”
Timmy said: “Their gym? My apologies of course. But I have been extremely quiet and cordial, especially to the female members. Has someone complained about an interaction with me?”
Mary said: “No, no no. Ok, I am just going to say it. We are all adults here. The size of your genitals is extremely distracting to the female members of the group.
It is almost to the point where some of them could be injured because they aren’t paying attention to the exercises being done.”
Timmy sighed a little bit and said: “I have done everything since I was a teenager to keep from making a spectacle. My shorts are extremely baggy and they go well past the knee. If my shorts were any shorter my genitals would be exposed.
I also wear tight compression shorts to keep the motion to a minimum.
I can’t help that it still moves actively when I exercise.
What else can I do? Have you told the women to control themselves and how inappropriate it is for them to be staring at my crotch during class?
Am I not an equal member to them?
Have you told them how uncomfortable it must make me feel to have so many eyes on me all the time when I'm simply trying to exercise at this expensive gym I pay for?
I am being objectified.
I have done all I can. I suggest you tell the women how offensive and immature what they are saying is. They feel unsafe? They are having anxiety. What?”
Paula and Mary didn't have an answer to this new and correct perspective.
They knew that they couldn't tell all the women to stop being distracted by Timmy's oversized member.
They didn't feel comfortable telling the women that they were being inappropriate and disrespectful and alienating another member by their behavior and that it needed to stop.
There would be a mass exodus if the women didn’t get what they wanted, no matter how hysterical the claims.
Timmy said: “I love coming to this gym. I finally found something that is helping me restore my physical health and also my mental health.
So I'm going to keep coming here. I know I've done nothing wrong. Your attitude and your words seem professional but they are all basic male shaming language.
It is complete misandry.
My natural body is offensive to you and the other female members.
I've done nothing wrong at all, in fact I've done everything I can to try to not be a distraction and to accommodate this difference in my body that I know can be distracting to others. There's nothing else that I can do.
You shouldn't have had any conversation with me. You should have spoken to the other members and chastised them for their immature and sophomoric behavior towards me. Why didn't you?
How am I supposed to come into the gym tomorrow and be comfortable? I finally found a group of people I thought I really enjoyed working out with and now I'm being objectified again.
You both are much too comfortable having this kind of conversation.
You had no reservation talking to an adult man this way?
If the roles were reversed and I was a woman with very large breasts and men came to you saying they felt unsafe and afraid, how would you have handled it?
Would you even have mentioned it to her at all?
Wouldn’t you have told them worse things can happen to them and then laughed at those men in private?
Anyway, there's no way that men would be approaching you telling you that a woman's extra large breasts are distracting them in class, even if they were.
So What would you do if I were a woman with distractingly large breasts?”
Version 2 Starts Here
The gym’s two owners, Mike and Chuck, approached Tina and asked if she would stay a few minutes after class as there's something they wanted to talk to her about.
Tina had a slight idea of what they wanted to talk about and it turned out she was right. She had gone through this since she started puberty.
Mike started the conversation by saying:
“You are a great member and liked by everybody. But there is something about you that is causing a problem with the male members. Some of the younger men are very intimidated and scared. It is giving them great anxiety. They don't feel safe. A few of them mentioned that this was a good example of aggressive feminity and their gym was no place for it.
We are afraid some of them may not renew their memberships.”
Tina said: “Their gym? My apologies of course. But I have been extremely quiet and cordial, especially to the male members. Has someone complained about an interaction with me?”
Chuck said: “No, no no. Ok, I am just going to say it. We are all adults here. The size of your breasts is extremely distracting to the male members of the group.
It is almost to the point where some of them could be injured because they aren’t paying attention to the exercises being done.”
Tina sighed a little bit and said: “I have done everything since I was a teenager to keep from making a spectacle. My shirt is extremely baggy and it goes well past my waist to avoid any under-boob showing.
I also wear a tight compression bra to keep the motion to a minimum.
I can’t help that they still move actively when I exercise.
What else can I do? Have you told the men to control themselves and how inappropriate it is for them to be staring at my breasts during class? Am I not an equal member to them?
Have you told them how uncomfortable it must make me feel to have so many eyes on me all the time when I'm simply trying to exercise at this expensive gym I pay for?
I am being objectified.
I have done all I can. I suggest you tell the men how offensive and immature what they are saying is. They feel unsafe? They are having anxiety. What?”
Mike and Chuck didn't have an answer to this new and correct perspective.
They knew that they couldn't tell all the men to stop being distracted by Tina’s oversized breasts.
They didn't feel comfortable telling the men that they were being inappropriate and disrespectful and alienating another member by their behavior and that it needed to stop.
There would be a mass exodus if the men didn’t get what they wanted, no matter how hysterical the claims.
Tina said: “I love coming to this gym. I finally found something that is helping me restore my physical health and also my mental health.
So I'm going to keep coming here. I know I've done nothing wrong. Your attitude and your words seem professional but they are all basic female slut shaming language.
It is complete misogyny.
My natural being is offensive to you and the other male members.
I've done nothing wrong at all, in fact I've done everything I can to try to not be a distraction and to accommodate this difference in my body that I know can be distracting to others. There's nothing else that I can do.
You shouldn't have had any conversation with me. You should have spoken to the other members and chastised them for their immature and sophomoric behavior towards me. Why didn't you?
How am I supposed to come into the gym tomorrow and be comfortable? I finally found a group of people I thought I really enjoyed working out with and now I'm being objectified again.
You both are much too comfortable having this kind of conversation.
You had no reservation talking to an adult woman this way?
If the roles were reversed and I was a man with large genitals and women came to you saying they felt unsafe and afraid, how would you have handled it?
Would you even have mentioned it to him at all?
Wouldn’t you have told them worse things can happen to them and then laughed at those women in private?
Anyway, there's no way that women would be approaching you telling you that a man’s extra large genitals were distracting them in class, even if it were.
So What would you do if I were a man with a distractingly large genitalia?”
