It is, but it isn't. A Post on Double Standards.

               By now everyone is aware that we live in the 21^st Century, I hope. Most everyone understands the ideas of homosexuality, transgender, bisexuality, divorce, feminism, weight-shaming, gender-shaming, religion-shaming, terrorism, domestic abuse, child abuse, gun control, sex trafficking, racism, etc. and the effects that each of these have on the world around us. However, I feel as if most of the, 21^st Century “advances” or “new-normalcies”, come with horrible double standards, but spread a message of some diluted form of “freedom”.

For instance, by now everyone has probably read about Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner and his/her transformation. At the same time, everyone has probably heard how brave or, admirable or, inspirational he/she is and I don’t see it that way.                That makes me a bigot.

 Now, if Mr./Mrs. Jenner were to look at me and say, “I don’t understand why she chooses to stay the sex she was born, that’s not very brave”, it wouldn’t make him/her anything, just a person with an opinion. Why? Why is it that by reading one sentence you cringe and think, “Oooh, I can’t wait to see the comments she gets”, but by reading the other you don’t even look twice at what I wrote? Double standards. Welcome to the 21^st Century, the Social Era, where toes can be stepped on in one breath, but you can be liberal and accepted in the next.

  

Okay, let’s try another one, because I know you’re all blood thirsty for another reason to hate me. How about weigh-shaming, that’s an incredibly popular one, for several reasons. As Meghan Trainor so creatively put it, “Yeah it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two. But I can shake it, shake it like I’m supposed to do. ‘Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase. All the right junk in all the right places. I see the magazines working that Photoshop. We know that sh*t ain’t real. Come on now, make it stop. If you got beauty beauty just raise ‘em up. ‘Cause every inch of you is perfect. From the bottom to the top. Yeah, my momma she told me don’t worry about your size. She says, boys like a little more booty to hold at night. You know I won’t be no stick-figure silicone Barbie doll. So if that’s what you’re into then go ahead and move along.” I happen to think this song is catchy, and that it spreads a good message of accepting yourself the way you are; unless that way is stick-figure.

Here’s the thing, people have a great habit of judging off of the first things they see. For instance, someone looks at another person who is overweight and thinks, “eating disorder”. That same person then looks at someone who is underweight and thinks, “eating disorder”. Daily we see ads and read stories about how important it is not to make judgements or bully people if they are overweight. What we don’t hear or see is the same thing goes for people who are struggling with being underweight. I personally have been “shamed”, so to speak, for my weight. Standing at 5’8”, and weighing in at 104lbs., I try not to get irritated when someone says something to me about my weight or what they think. I’m not supposed to get irritated, I’m supposed to be grateful that someone notices how small I am and be happy with my weight. If I’m not, and I bring up how someone is weight-shaming me, I’m ungrateful, or ridiculous. Sound like another double standard?

               Let’s just keep on moving to the next one, racism. We all know what it means and have heard countless stories and examples. So please note that if you find what I am about to say racist, then you will be able to see my exact point of this being a double standard.

February is Black History Month, May is Asian Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month, September is National Hispanic American Heritage Month, and November is Native American Heritage Month. So why don’t we have a Caucasian History Month? Because that would be racist and we should know better. I don’t say this because I don’t appreciate the months that have been dedicated to certain ethnicities, but because I find a very significant double standard. So now what am I? Oh yes, racist. Forgive me, I just don’t see why we are encouraged to accept people who are different colors, or speak different languages, but are discouraged from being proud of being white? Why can’t we be happy for being any or all? Isn’t that the American thing?

               I have two more I would like to talk about, so bear with me. Next on my list, homosexuality. If you have been reading my blog for any period of time, you should remember I wrote a post about this a while ago. I also did a piece about Feminism which I unfortunately don’t have the time to cover, but please check them both out and let me know what you think! Anyway, homosexuality has very recently been accepted and pushed to be accepted by more people, worldwide. The idea of same-sex couples adopting children is another topic that has been trending as well. If I were to sit here and talk about how monumental and wonderful that is, very few people would have any problems with it. However, if I were to talk about how wonderful it is to see a heterosexual marriage and adoption, I would nicely fit right back into that “bigot” title from earlier, along with a nice “homophobic”. So basically, I am allowed to accept the idea of homosexual marriage and family, but not heterosexual marriage and family, I don’t want to be a homophobic bigot.

               Lastly, the topic of religion-shaming. With 19 major religions, subdivided into 270 large religions, it’s easy for every individual to find and choose a religion. Recently, it was reported that the U.S embassy in Indonesia removed their July 4^th celebration in order to avoid offending Muslims during their holy month of Ramadan. Did you catch that? Yes, the U.S embassy decided to celebrate the 4^th of July an entire month early so the Muslims in Indonesia wouldn’t be offended. This is supposed to be a respectful gesture, something done without question, but do you think the gesture will be returned? No, America and Americans are literally looked upon as Satan by Muslims. The 4^th of July isn’t a small holiday like, Arbor Day, this is the day we celebrate and remember the struggles and sacrifices put into making our Country the best, free country in the world. Meanwhile, Muslims are imprisoning our soldiers, our journalists, and cutting their heads off, not showing respect for our religious holidays. Except, we shouldn’t be that judgmental and disrespectful; it’s their right to worship, not ours. Right?

               Now that I’ve covered some of my biggest double standard pet peeves, be on the look-out for more. You never know where you’re going to find them and by recognizing them, you’ll be more informed and likely to make better decisions. Of course, by now you can also see what a ridiculous, ungrateful, homophobic, racist, judgmental, disrespectful, bigot I am. Sorry, not sorry. It is what you make it folks, feel free to share and tell me what you think! Have a great week!