Thursday, March 8, 2007

The roar of the greasepaint...

Gender roles have become progressively more malevolent; they are tools whose propensity for abuse increase exponentially with the size of the groups that utilize them. At their core, their ability to guide complex interactions can be useful in providing structure between unfamiliar individuals; the problem arises when the roles themselves supersede the people they were designed to serve.

Many unscrupulous manipulators would use gender roles as a standard by which to impose judgments concerning self worth. An inability to conform equals a lack of humanity, and thus is equated with a right to impose punitive measures.

The uncertainty that plagues modern existence promotes fear, and with this fear comes a resistance to change, and a propensity to search for scapegoats. With identity in flux, the social interactions that once seemed sound have many floundering; an ever increasing desperation for stability leads to a rigid adherence t0 convention, even at the price of personal integrity.

The transformation of people into objects allows many to detach themselves from the bonds of responsibility that prohibit destructive actions. Thus, a transgressor of traditional gender roles can be labeled a freak, and be abused verbally and physically without causing the perpetrator guilt for their criminal behavior. Indeed, such cruelty may well be painted with the brush of virtue; as sustaining order and preserving social cohesion.

Forcing people to perform roles for which they are miscast not only destroys the actor, it sabotages the play entire. Everyone has unique attributes, and if these increasing diverse talents are to be fully utilized, there must be greater allowances made for the individual interpretation of the human condition. To demolish the characters for the sake of show only insures dismal windowing of such a presentation to the point where the final curtain is a merciful release.

No comments: