How Feminism Has Benefited Me - Friendships Edition

I was going through Laci Green's YouTube channel to find a specific video to share in a conversation, and as happens most times I visit her channel, I ended up watching a few more of her videos because she's all smart and stuff.

This time, one particular video caught my attention.

I've never understood the myth that men & women cannot be platonic friends.  Throughout my entire life, the vast majority of my closest friends have been female.  There's really only been a handful of exceptions.  My oldest friend is male, and we've been through some pretty rough, and some pretty good times together.  But I'm just as close to his wife as I am him.

I have separate bonds with each of them because I'm able to see them as separate people.  My friend's wife wasn't just my friend's wife.  She's a person of her own, and because I was able to see her that way, she quickly became the closest thing I've ever had to sister.  We're close friends, and we both find the idea of it being anything else as laughable as if we really were siblings.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's never been weird because none of the three us have antiquated views on friendship and gender.

Rarely has sexual interest ever come up with any of my friends, and it's never seriously hindered or ended a friendship of mine.  I attribute this largely to the fact that I never bought into the idea that it should.  Plus, I've made (mostly) good choices about who I've called friend.

I never specifically sought out female friends or male friends.  It's happened that most of my friends, and nearly all of my closest confidants, have been women.  I'm glad I never bought into the archaic ideas that friendships should be gender segregated or that the only interaction between genders must involve our genitals.

If I'd let that silly notion into my head, I'd have needlessly deprived myself of most of the best people in my life.

Reasons I'm Glad I'm Atheist, She-Ra Edition

Despite the best efforts of my childhood dog, who would only eat my He-Man toys while ignoring all my other toys, I loved He-Man.  So when She-Ra began, I watched that too.  I may have even liked it better.  Although, I cannot be sure since I was six years old when it started.

Either way, my point is that I never had a concept that show was supposedly "for girls".  I just knew that I liked it.  I never had religion telling me that I couldn't watch it because I was boy.  I never had shame imposed on me for not fitting into narrow minded expectations of gender roles.  My parents didn't freak out thinking that watching it might make gay.

I watched what I liked.  Thundercats, GI Joe, Transformers, Silverhawks, M.A.S.K., Duck Tales, Shirt-Tales, Snorks, He-Man, She-Ra.  I didn't watch what I didn't like.  Jonny Quest, Jem.  Gender was irrelevant.

When people ask, what we "get" out of atheism, as if everything must have a tangible reward to be worthwhile, this is a small example.  We get the freedom to like whatever the hell we feel like, without being hindered by religion and its stupid, stupid ideas on gender roles.

Credit:  @drzach