BATTLE OF the sexes—an issue arising from the desire of opposing
parties to claim dominance over another; a theme that had been the
source of friction between these two.
The questions this rivalry suggests are: "Who’s got the
real power?", "Who reigns with supremacy?" and "Who’s
the stronger sex?" As for me, for almost hundreds of years, men
have gained power in every field. You can trace that if you know your
history very well. Even if there were women who rose to power, they
were very rare that you can almost count them with the fingers of
your hands (or you may want to include the toes of the your feet).
Even the etymology of the word "history" can tell who really
rules. This word could be interpreted as “his story”—men’s
story. Even in manuscripts, pronouns for men are commonly used to
refer to the whole of human race.
It was only in this modern time that women became more aware of this
men-dominated world. The ideology of feminism was widely discussed.
Women started to fight for what they believe should be given to them—equality
with men in all aspects of life.
But are they, the women, really worthy to be on equal footing with
men? Well, all I can say is that we are all entitled to our opinions
according to our biases. And I believe that if I continue giving my
stance on who really dominates, some readers might just get annoyed.
So to be able to discuss this matter in a fair way, I decided to roam
around, get the opinions of both men and women and later throw in
my own.
The first remark I got was from my classmate. She said these lines
with pride: “Ang babae ang mas magaling dahil marunong kaming
gumamit ng alindog upang tuksuhin ang mga kalalakihan at kunin ang
gusto namin. Itong mga lalaki naman, napakadaling mabola at mauto!”
Quite familiar? Girls, do you agree? Well, this might be a fact. That's
what Delilah did to Samson. But is this really a manifestation of
dominance? Two insights can be derived from this. A lot believe that
the weakness of one can be the opponent’s source of strength.
This mainly describes my classmates’ remark. Nevertheless, I
think that is not the way it must be. Moreover, I want to tag it as
being “opportunistic.” Look, what would you feel if you
see someone benefiting from one’s waterloo? Is it right? Well,
I just want to leave that to you.
The other day, I went to the library and saw a male friend. I used
reverse psychology to flare him up on the issue of who among the male
and the female rules. After a long exchange, he ended up saying, “Sige,
matatanggap kong mas magaling sila kung makakaihi sila ng nakatayo
sa harap ng pader nang hindi nababasa!” Truly, women are being
left behind on the aspect of physical capability as a measure of strength.
As my friend said, performing heavy tasks is a test of who rules.
But then again, this cannot be a basis of supremacy since it just
manifests what nature has endowed us. We have distinct physical composition
which allows us to do different activities.
To weigh things up, there are certain matters with which one rules
over another. While male chauvinists and feminists continue to debate
over who really is the stronger sex, why don’t we just stop and
think? After all this rivalry and discussions can men really live
without women or vice versa? I can sense the answer is a big NO.
The point here is really not claiming dominance over the opposite
party. Human beings, in general, are no less than a species that interrelate
for the full realization of the optimum level of their existence.
Whatever their gender is, they hand in hand strive for the progress
of the world. This can be evidently seen in the global competition
going on—which is now happening in a degree far beyond the expectations
in the early 1900s. Both men and women had gained the kind of dominance
they have aspired for.
However, is there really a battle going between these two sexes?
Although a grueling effect of a gender revolution may still roam in
the minds of some, still, there should be no battle of the sexes.
It's just a matter of basic approval of others in the uncertainty
of dominance in the world. It is in the reconceptualizing one's standpoint
in life. True enough, both struggle for power and control—though
it does not necessarily dwell on the question of who is the contender.
It is not enough to just accept our differences, though. We should
also learn to share it with one another. We must celebrate of the
two sexes’ complexities and work together by complementing one
another. If we’ll just open our eyes, a perfect world is at hand
if we will be able to harmoniously co-exist with one another—male
and female.
