Macho Girl

"She's Got to be a Macho Girl" by Alex Kuczynski presents an interesting points as to how the media has influenced young women to assume the attitude that some men have about sex and relationships. The article calls it "the macho" attitude. It presents the comments of a doctor arguing that one of the ways young people learn about relationships is through the TV and Internet. The doctor argues that because the women presented by the media have an "aggresive" attitude in pursuing intimate relationships with young men, young women have adopted the macho approach to relationships. I agree with this point and I immediately thought of the role played by Cameron Diaz in the movie "In Her Shoes" and how the movie become very popular. But I have a problem with characterizing all behavior in which women are assertive as aggressive.

I believe that women can be assertive without necessarily being aggressive and that is a distinction that is not being shown by the media in their aired programs and songs. The article and the comments it presents do not get into this issue. If a young women takes the first step in seeking a relationship that does not necessarily mean she is aggressive. Aggressiveness depends on a individual circumstances surrounding the event. A women may also assume a "passive role" and may be acting assertively.

There are other comments in the article that seem to point out that a reason why young voters nowadays are "aggressive" in pursuing personal relationships is the result of the feminist movement idea that women should pursue equality with men in all spheres, jobs, school, sports, and therefore women should also "dominate in a sexual relationship". The problem with this inference is that "dominating" a relationship does not reflect equality. A relationship under those circumstances reflects that one party is superior to the other. To really pursue equality women must not imitate that behavior but make men abandon that behavior. I believe the real feminist take on the issue of relationships is that feminist women should be assertive, and this does not necessarily means aggressive or dominating the relationship. The feminist view is not that "She's Got to be a Macho Girl".