I have a very serious pet peeve. It is when women make statements like "I'm just one of the guys", as if that is something to be proud of. Comments like this indicate that she isn't proud to be female. I love being a woman. I love that I'm allowed to express my emotions. I love spending time on my appearance. I appreciate my inherent nurturing qualities. So when I hear comments like this I find it really irritating. Every day, you hear people constantly disempowering women by portraying them as cliches. We are only allowed to fall into the following categories: doormat, bitch, or "one of the guys". So I suppose that I can't blame women for wanting to become the latter. It takes a truly strong woman to be proud of being feminine while maintaining an immovable point of view. I'm proud to say that I am good at constructing things. I have no shame in the fact that I enjoy a dirty joke every once in awhile. I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at driving, especially at paralell parking. And I know a few things about cars. But I am not "one of the guys".

At some point in our childhood, we are all shaped into what society wants us to be. As women, we aren't really encouraged to pursue certain careers and hobbies. Boys receive more encouragement to learn how to build things and make things work. We are told again and again (by the media, mostly) that most of our value rests firmly on becoming what men want us to be. Obviously, men want us to be attractive. And because they are human, they want us to acknowledge their dominance and superiority. All of that is perfectly acceptable. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting these things from us. However, we are suckers for believing it.

So women, don't perpetuate the problem. Be proud of being whatever you TRULY are. It isn't necessary to compare yourself to the boys. And men, (the few that may have had the interest and patience to read this to the end)thank you.