Dresses for every body

I've never worn a dress. Really. Say what you want about the Scottish, but men wearing skirts, dresses, spaghetti straps and those fancy schmancy sandals are frowned upon at best and ostracized at worst. As the world tries so hard to rid itself of bigotry of all kinds, I see we have not yet removed all the pebbles from our bowls of light, especially regarding male and female gender roles.\nThe double standard between women and men has been one of the longest standing sources of social senselessness throughout history. In the beginning, men went out and hit things and women stayed in one area picking berries and having babies. Then the men came home, sex ensued and everyone went to sleep. Things are definitely better now, but we're still pretty mired in a blatant asymmetry between the sexes that is negatively affecting both sides. \nThe average woman makes roughly 70 to 75 percent of what a man makes in the same position. Men are still the only ones eligible for the military draft. The only woman who has a real shot at the presidency got her biggest boost into politics by being married to Bill Clinton. Stay-at-home dads are deep in minority land. Women are noticeably absent in the upper management of many companies (e.g., Wal-mart). And I still can't wear a gown without being labeled as some variety of sexual deviant.\nIn the original "Star Trek," women often wore miniskirts instead of pants as part of their uniform. For those who don't know, "Star Trek" is supposed to take place after Earth has reached a post-World War III state of nearly perfect social utopia, with all people being free, equal, well-fed, etc. So guess what showed up in "Star Trek: The Next Generation?" A couple of guys, in uniform, with miniskirts. Why? Because everyone was equal and gender roles had been eliminated. Dresses for everybody! Of course modern day viewers of the show didn't like this one bit, so subsequent seasons lacked miniskirt action altogether. \nWomen are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were, but they still are not on the same footing as men. Conversely, men have not advanced very far at all. "Real men don't cry," "a man's job" and "take it like a man" are imprinted in society's psyche. Whereas girls now can play both Barbies and basketball, if a boy starts to play house, his parents quickly shower him with pellet guns and Playboys.\nI'm not blaming anyone. It's certainly not your fault, you parents' fault or even 'The Man's' fault (oddly enough). It's just how society has twisted and swerved over the years. The idea that males are confined to specific duties surfaced relatively recently in modern thought. Why should you think you're oppressed when you've got all the control? But now women have a substantial, if still unequal, portion of power, and men are beginning to realize that they too are restricted to a certain segments of society. In fact, women possibly now have more societal freedoms than men! \nMy point? I'm not expecting anyone to read this column and go organize a march for men's rights; it's simply not necessary, and getting an entire society to throw off its oldest form of bigotry isn't exactly going to be accomplished by one man (or woman). Similarly, forming a men's rights group would receive more flak than it's worth. Let's start small. The next time you see a young boy grab a Barbie instead of a BB gun, don't discourage him. Guys, next time we feel an emotion other than hunger or lust, maybe we could, you know, talk about it or something. Maybe even to each other! Rough stuff, I know, but I think we can handle it.