There is something wrong in our raising of men when the word "cramps" sends them into a shocked state of paralysis.
I don't know how I went from being the most shy person ever, in high school, to someone with a significant disregard for political correctness and a love of the joys of shock and awe. Can't account for it at all. But, there it is.
I suppose the boys are funny about it. I place them in two categories, neither better or worse, just different.
I walked into class late this morning, shaking from the overload of caffeine and lack of food in my system, and feeling like I'd been trampled by an overweight fleet of water buffalo. I'm pretty sure I look like death warmed over, too. Anyway, I had three different boys ask if I was sick.
In a past life, I would have nodded and said my stomach hurt, or that I was ill. They would have nodded and thought they were empathizing, as if they had the faintest idea how much life sucked at that very moment. But I, I am a whiner. When I feel awful, I want sympathy, and lots of it.
This is where I get a little sadistic. I know that, most of the time, I am not going to get empathy from a guy. How can I? So, I take my enjoyment where I can get it. I tell the truth matter-of-factly ("Cramps, you know") and watch their reactions.
The first category of boys will literally freeze. Most of the time, they'll turn about 15 degrees away, lifting the shoulder nearest to you. There may be some clearing of the throat. Some will say something utterly incomprehensible. I think it's funny, but also sad. Our society is so repressed and uneducated. There are significant brownie points to be earned in the guy response to feminine issues, and yet this part of their learning is neglected.
The second category do much better. There is no loss of eye contact, no deer-in-the-headlights, what-do-I-possibly-say-to-this fear. Most of these people have had sisters before. Not all. So they nod, and say they're sorry, and some ask if there's anything they can do. Usually, there isn't, but girls appreciate the offer.
These categories are somewhat vague, and there's no reflection of worth in how boys react to statements of honesty. It's interesting to me, that's all. And when one feels like they have been trampled by water buffalo, you have to take all the enjoyment of life that you can get.
On another random note (because being moody and hormonal makes me significantly ADHD), I really don't like the fact that blogger lets followers hide behind their anonymity. I've got this raging curiosity, see, and those two shadow people are killing me. Absolutely killing me.
Who are you?
6 comments:
I hope you feel better soon.
Poor boys growing up without sisters . . .
I really love the anonymity, though. But then again, I like to know who's following me. My sister stalked my blog for like, six months without telling me. To be fair, though, she's not a member.
GOOD NEWS: I had pain yesterday so bad (from hunger, dunno if that's ever happened to you) I wondered if that was what really bad cramps were like (I mean, I have never left class before because of pain but I left and found a sandwich gorramit and it only helped [and did not fix] the problem) because I've had cramps before, and they're not killer, just unpleasant, but I realize that I don't have all the same internal complexity of a woman and that menstrual cramps can be much worse (I mean have you ever heard of dysmenhorrea [sp?] because I dated a girl who went seriously loopy from the amount of drugs she had to take just to function during her cramps) so I have no idea if my cramps are representative, you know?
Anyway, I was so hungry I was in physical pain, so much that I ate two sandwiches and was still in pain until I just found a water fountain and drank until it went away. Hope I don't have a problem or anything. Yay!
Robby, you are just on your A-game these days. Everything I've seen of yours is just excellent.
So anyway, I've also been so hungry I was in physical pain, and although I don't know if it was exactly the same level of pain as yours, I think my menstrual cramps are worse. Of, course, the actual cramps are accompanied by bleeding and bloating and headaches and soreness as the body tries to compensate as well as negative emotions, all of which last for up to a week, so I'm not sure how much of that is psychological or exacerbated by other symptoms.
Of course, I know that different women experience it differently, and different women have different pain thresholds, so maybe comparison is too complex to be practical.
Wow. I didn't mean for this to get so involved. Over cramps. Oh, dear.
A: Growing up without sisters is no excuse. I am an only child and yet I am still aware of the existence of cramps and periods and tampons and blahblahblahblah (I'm also aware that women undergo similar digestive process as males. nobody likes to talk about it, but it happens. People poop.) It's not a big deal. The guys that freeze are just pathetic. I am also aware that cramps from a period are worse than cramps in general. This is easily infered from the reaction of females during the duration lol.
B: Robby, how long had it been since you ate? Goodness. I went over 24hrs with no food and was in no pain. what did you do, not eat for a week? lol jeez man.
C: You women really do have it rough. It's unfair to you, and I'd apologize if I thought it would matter worth crap. I am pretty sure that (depending on the woman) menstruel cramps are worse than getting kicked in the testicles. (there's actually a big misunderstanding among females about what happens to us when kicked.)
D: Robby's not kidding, I know the girl he's talking about. Craziness.
haha I honestly laughed out loud when I read your description of the different guys! I know exactly what you are talking about. To funny!
I hope you feel better btw
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