Is individuality even possible?

Man, woman, or individual? Ellen Apply Keim, a feminist blogger, poses this question in her blog post Gender Differences. Keim believes that “generalizations are dangerous” and “we need to consider each person on a case-by-case basis” (Keim par 2, 4). The author admits that she tends to believe that “men and women each have physiologically-determined characteristics unique to their sex which may or may not determine their behavior” (Keim par 1). The blog post goes on to express that there are characteristics that each sex exhibits, but that an individual is not limited to the characteristics of his or her particular sex. She speaks for the entire feminist community when she states that she prefers to view people as individuals and not divide men and women into separate categories.
Much too often it is human instinct to classify people into groups. Defining people by the group they associate themselves with is wrong. Each person is not a member of a certain classification, he/she is an individual. For anyone who has ever seen a member of the opposite sex, it is obvious that the biological makeup of males and females is different. These difference may physically separate men from women, but “a person's gender has more to do with where s(he) sits on the spectrum of sexuality than with the genitalia s(he) was born with” (Keim par 2) Starting at conception, these differences have a huge impact on our lives. The first question someone asks a pregnant woman is, “is it a boy or a girl”. Girls should have long hair and boys short. Girls should cake on makeup, and boys should not care about their appearance. But why? Keim insists that “There are always exceptions to the rule” and “no one can deny that there are masculine females and feminine males” (par 2).
Not every human who is biologically configured to be a man acts like a lumberjack, just as not every woman wants to be a super-thin runway model. Keim is right in saying that humans should be treated as individuals, but this idealistic way of thinking is impossible. Society has created these restrictions depending on what sexual category one falls into and as I previously stated, the separation begins at conception.
I can honestly say that when I see someone who could potentially be either a male or a female, I almost always whisper to someone close by and ask if they know what sexual category the “he/she” falls into. Everyone has done it because it is human instinct to want to separate the men from the women. Individuality is ideal yet unrealistic.

Who doesn't love a good poem?

In order to be a part of any group, or a part of any society there are certain rules one must abide by.  Wrestlers must starve themselves.  Fashionistas cannot wear white after labor day.  Christians must attend church every sunday.  Girls must wear dresses.  Boys must throw footballs.  As stereotypical as it may sound, it is the truth.  After reading a poem about the rules that every girl must follow, I decided to write a poem about the rules that a slob must follow.  Even if my dad likes to tell me that no one could possibly be as messy as me and accuse me of being inhumane, I am definitely not the only slob in the world.  Lets hope this first blog post gets all of you slobby bloggers interested in my life.

Slob

Don’t you dare touch the pile of laundry until it grows taller than your head; buy more clothes than fit in your drawers, and do worry about it when your drawers overflow; make food but leave the dishes on the sink, leave the pots on the stove, and the plates on the table; eat in your bed and sleep on the crumbs; only run the dishwasher when you run out of spoons; only do the laundry when you run out of thongs; can’t you just not wear underwear?; you’re a slob not a slut honey; this is how you throw your water bottle at the garbage but miss; this is how you avoid ever picking it up; spray Febreeze on shirts that are not exactly clean; braid your hair when the grease becomes overwhelming; shower often, but don’t stress about missing a day; this is how to get your shoes nice and dirty in the mud; make sure you leave a trail of this mud from the front door all the way to your room; when you try something on, put it on the floor not back in the drawer; this is how to throw your clothes all over the ground; this is how to walk on a ground completely covered in clothes and not trip; this is how to find clothes hidden deep under your bed; don’t let your makeup break on the ground, this is actually too big of a mess; don’t dust your dressers; don’t litter out the window, use the floor of your car; but what if the garbage goes under the break pedal?; good drivers can drive without the break; drive through muddy puddles and let the mud harden on your car; use the center console as a garbage when the floor is no longer visible; this is how to stick your gum under the desks at school; this is how to leave cookie crumbs all over your desk for the next student to find; make an effort to not get stains on your clothes; this is how to use tide-to-go when you do; eat in front of the TV without a placement; do not worry about the crumbs that fall under the couch; coasters are unnecessary; this is how to make your room appear clean for guests; convince guests to avoid your room when it is far too messy to even pretend to be clean; this is how you smile innocently when your dad tells you to clean your room; this is how to block out his voice when his requests become demands; this is how to slam your door and stuff your clothes in your closet when he threatens to punish you; this is how to sneak out the living room window when you get grounded for a messy room; hire a cleaning lady as soon as you have sufficient funds.