Treating Girls Decently (An article i wrote)

This is an article i wrote for one of my columns. I write for a local paper every so often. More of those articles to come.

Come on Guys
You only accept the love you think you deserve. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used that phrase. I can’t even recall where I heard it. You don’t enter into unhealthy relationships, or friendships for that matter, unless you accept that treatment. The more friends I have that are girls, the more fault I see with guys. How it makes me sick with anger to hear my friends tell me how they are sometimes treated. Girls are not trash on the street or second to your own self. I’m tired of seeing guys treat girls this way. I quote from one guy at my school, “Ugly girls shouldn’t be allowed to live.”
Maybe I’m different. Maybe I’m more mature. Maybe I’m less mature. It doesn’t matter. Either way, guys, how you treat girls is a reflection of what you are and how you think of yourself. I often have a hard enough time with some of the vulgar and audacious things people say to me, but I couldn’t imagine it coming from the opposite sex. However I was never raised to be rude. Were any of us? I doubt it. But the parents don’t get off scotch free in this small rant. Dads, how you treat your wives can often be the best lesson to your sons. It sometimes teachers your daughters about what to expect. Fathers, do yourselves a favor and tell your daughters how beautiful you really think they are. The excuse about not being able to communicate your feelings well doesn’t apply here if you truly love your child. It’s your daughter, and as a parent it’s your job to shape her life. Help her see how naturally beautiful a young lady she is so she demands to be treated like one. I was raised in the South. I was raised to say things like Yes Ma’am and No sir. I was also raised to be chivalrous; open the door for women, offer to carry things that appeared heavy, treat a girl like you’d want someone to treat your sister.
Your raising does have something to do with how you view and treat the opposite sex. But as with all other things, there comes a time when we must decide how to act for ourselves. It’s called maturity. While I love to be immature, don’t get me wrong, the lasting effects that my actions can have on my female friends always present themselves with a serious consequence, and thus demand a more mature outlook. The things people say to you can cling to your thoughts for years.
It’s not only what people say, or even do, in our society that challenges confidences daily; it’s our society today. Never before have women been so objectified by our movies, swimsuit editions of magazines, or even on television. This rant isn’t only an indictment of only guys or even their parents; it involves our whole society. You wouldn’t believe the amount of surgery that goes on with our “Hollywood idols” quests to find true beauty and perfection. If you have to make it, mold it, or boost it, it’s not real and it’s not beautiful.
I just text messaged one of my friends and asked her what she thought about guys impact on girls. She said, “Guys have a MAJOR influence on girls. Girls will change their entire lives for a guy.” It’s obvious, for some reason, that guys have a certain power. Spiderman said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
You wouldn’t believe how you could change someone’s day with a simple compliment, gesture, or smile. Hugs are my personal favorite. So if we have the ability to make such a great difference, why are we so hateful? In my generation, I’m not seeing guys give the respect to girls that they deserve. It comes back to that simple maxim we should all live by; the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Maybe this is sexist, and if it is, too bad. I try to put girls first in relationships or even in friendships. It might idealistic, but the degrading state of confidences in my friends is proof to me that something beyond a realistic view is needed now. I want all the girls (as well as people) I know to be a little better off for knowing me. Maybe I’m being sexist, maybe I’m a “good old-fashioned lover boy” (Queen rocks), or maybe I’m just on my soapbox a little too high, but I think if we stopped and treated women with a little more respect, the world would be a better place. Changing the world begins one action at a time. Why not start with those we can’t live without? Women.