After three long years of reading The Post, you cannot imagine my joy when I discovered that at long last you had accepted a gender politics expert! Bentley Weisel, (Why aren’t you a Doctor yet? Such a waste of talent.) who first caught my eye with her powerful and oh-so-accurate column “Girls can’t be friends with opposite sex” has once again hit the nail on the head with “Most boys of a feather flock to get ‘her’.” I read it thinking “Oh man, finally someone who isn’t me can tell me who I am! That’s great!”
But then, Post, my heart sank. Because after reading her article I was struck with the fact that I, who have lived 21 years of my life and fought hard to define myself, was not on her list! And what’s more, the qualities in which I find attractive in a woman were scattered all over the place! Woe is I.
Was it because I don’t look distinctly like “The Hipster” or “The Jock” or even “The Frat Bro” that you chose not to ask me? How did you find these stereotypes, anyway? Did you look for people on the street who fit your narrow-minded perceptions of the male figure and just swing for the fences? I’m just curious.
Anyway, my purpose for writing this is because I am confused and scared. I don’t know what to do, Bentley.
Help me define myself, please! In order to facilitate the process, let me give you a bit about the qualities I find attractive in a woman:
I like a woman who is smart and can use her brain to make a place for herself in the world around her. A woman who is honest with herself and therefore those around her. A woman who is creative and uses her senses to create things out of passion and skill.
I like a woman who cares about herself and how she presents herself; this isn’t limited to physical appearance, mind you, but how she carries herself and how she articulates herself. Because if she’s strong, why shouldn’t she show it?
I like a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to fight for it. I want a woman who is only what she makes herself to be, not what others say or think she is.
So there, Bentley. Based on how I feel about what is attractive in a woman, I’m asking you to place me in one of your little categories. Or better yet, place her in one of them next week.
Hopefully you’ll be able to tell me just the type of woman she is, or the type of guy I am. Because I’m dying to know what words to use.
I was thinking about using the words “Human Being” to describe us both, but something tells me you won’t.
Ryan Myers is a junior studying technology and design
and is the president of the Empower Campaign.
