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The Role of Heterosexuality in Creating Sexism
We form our opinions based on our life experiences, and this narrows our point of view
I’ve often been tempted to write about gender roles in relationships.
The reason for this is that, historically, when I’ve entered into a relationship, there’s been what, to my eyes, seems like a clear gender dynamic. I reflect on my behavior and see it as male-typical and my partner’s behavior as feminine.
Yet, I’ve shied away from the subject because no matter how much experience I have dating, my experience is ultimately narrowed by my sexual orientation and my general personality.
For example, I tend to be oddly unemotional in my initial attempts to resolve conflict. Thus, it’s not unusual for my partner to be more emotional than I am at those times. Additionally, I only date women.
If I didn’t account for my individual circumstances, these two facts together might’ve led me to assume women are more emotional when dealing with relationship conflict.
Indeed, I’ve nearly succumbed to this mental trap in the past. What’s saved me from this is looking closely at the way my male friends act in their relationships.
