this is another post by alex green, my lovely young assistant. it’s great to work with people whose minds are fresh and agile! here, alex picks up the thread from the post on international women’s day, where the term “male-esque” made an appearance.
what does “male-esque” mean?
to define male-esque is going against its original intention. if you try and define something un-definable you’re in a never-ending spiral, which only leads to further confusion.
when i think of people i’ve seen that are male-esque they make me really happy because they are totally free from the contamination that is the (judgmental) categorization of humans. whether it is gender, sexuality, race or anything else, it is important to recognize that someone who is targeted by judgmental people is actually the one who embraces what the rest of us as a society should affirm.
it doesn’t matter what gender you are, just that you are firm in yourself. i googled around a bit and found some very interesting uses of male-esque. they all sum up to being male like, but not actually male.
for example, if the person born as george is now sally, this person might now feel comfortable with the label of male-esque because they still want to acknowledge their male physical body even though they essentially think like a female. (note the “might” – a person in a similar situation might prefer female-esque or female – it’s all a matter of personal preference.)
even when i start to talk like that i feel myself getting frustrated because the point of male-esque is not to categorize it. i think it’s important to understand people from their experience of life, and not to put them in a box so they make sense to you. when you put them in that box you are no longer engaging them; you’re talking to the person in the box who has put on a mask to accommodate you.
what also comes to mind when talking about this is female-esque. it’s equally important and needs to be recognized as well. i know a few people who i would consider male or female-esque and i’m totally open with them about what i feel and talk to them from where they are, which they do with me as well.
i see treating people differently because of their age, gender, sexuality, race, interests or other characteristics not fair to you or them.
i do battle this myself, of course, but i am trying to work on it so i can walk the talk i am proclaiming. i want there to be fewer gaps in understanding between conventional and unconventional thinking, and all that requires is a small shift in the minds of both groups.
see, even there i had to categorize both, which was very frustrating to me. the english language is set up in such a way that in order to understand it, it’s required that we generalize certain things just to stay sane.