People judge other people; it's a well known fact. Sometimes, we can't comprehend things, so we shove them into tiny little boxes. It makes us feel more comfortable, more powerful, when we can slap a label onto things, and say "Oh, okay. That's what that is." Often we do this without realizing it, like we do with gender. Take a look around you, or outside, and find a stranger. Is this stranger a boy or a girl? We rarely put thought into it, because our minds, acculturated to think this way, automatically categorize these people into two basic classes; male and female. The thing is, though, they're not the only categories.

I remember, when I was at my former school, passing someone on the staircase and thinking "Wow, she's gorgeous." And, well, she was. Except for the small fact that this "girl"? She wasn't a girl at all; no, she was a boy. I also remember that when I learned this, I was slightly shocked. I mean, sure, when I passed him, I had only a glance, but it was gender. I mean, how many times do you get that wrong in your life? I felt really guilty after that, but despite this, I didn't make friends with him. Not because I didn't want to, but because I had been told several times that James* was arrogant, egotistical, and not very nice. Also, it would have been mostly a pity friendship, and there's a simple reason why. James* had to deal with lots of comments about his looks. Actually, I had a friend at the time, Ellen*, who made several off-hand comments, and a couple direct ones to James* as well. The one I best remember is Ellen* telling James that he shouldn't wear knee high socks, because apparently they made him seem more girly. I was floored by that comment, and that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was that not only did James hear her, he actually did stop wearing knee highs after that.

Remember that  I mentioned that people said how horrible James* was? Well, I think they might have been slightly prejudiced. I mean, he looks so much like a girl, and as I said earlier, people judge. For all I know, James* could be ridiculously nice, just scared, and people interpreted this as being aloof. Which, this whole prejudice actually leads me into my next point, which is about transexuals. I've always been slightly confused as to why they were treated so horribly, because people are people, right? Well, as I grew older, I learned of all the hatred in the world, and I began to understand, and what I do understand quite honestly disgusts me. If a boy wants to dress in pink and play with Barbies, why shouldn't he? If a man feels like he wants to be identified as a woman, great for her, she clearly knows herself well. If a girl would rather play in the mud and get dirty, what's holding her back? If a woman feels as though she should have been born a man, great for him. Sadly, most of the world does not think like me, and shuns these people, which is just horrible. So what if these people feel like they should have been born as the opposite gender? To me, all that shows is that they know themselves very well. Unfortunately, to most of the world, it means that this person is a freak.

Speaking of unfortunate, there are two disparaging and yet incredibly powerful phrases that I'd like to talk about. The first is obvious, and it's 'like a girl'. Somehow, over the decades, this has gone from a simple fact to a derogatory insult given to mainly men. How sad is that?

Anyone that's been on YouTube recently most likely saw the 'Like A Girl' ad. In this ad, there's a group of young women (adults), and a group of little girls. When the women were asked to do something 'like a girl', they did it with little or no effort at all.  Evidently, they were taught that it means to do something inferior to males, to be inferior in every way to males. Most people who've grown up both in this generation and the previous ones know this definition better than any other one. But when the little girls were asked to something 'like a girl', they gave it their all, they really went at it. This is how everybody should react to this comment, but not many do, and that's really sad. Why don't they though? I said it before, and I'll say it again, being a girl is a simple fact- so where along the path of history did it come to have such a depressing meaning?

The second phrase is one that seem as though it's given much less thought, as I've met very few people who think that this phrase should change, but it's so demeaning that it really has to change. The phrase is "Be a man", and it's a phrase most every father has told their son at least once, if not more than that. Heck, I've heard my own father say it. When did being a male come to mean that they shouldn't express any emotions and never cry; should be strong and brave, and extremely able to deal with pain? It's not as if they don't have emotions, clearly they have to; they're human as well. Society, however, seems to think otherwise as when males express any emotion, whether it be joy, excitement, fear, sadness or anger, they are no longer considered to "be a man". When they are scared, no matter if the fear is rational or not, they're considered to be wimps. Answer me this, society: why, in this aspect, are woman so free, and men aren't? I mean, it's not like men are always the strong ones; women are the hunters in many animal species. Again, I really don't like that this phrase became so popular, but what I truly don't understand is the why.

In the end, this little article won't change much at all. How can it, when it's the society as a whole that's reacting this way? Society will never change, it will never stop judging people, it will never stop being prejudiced, it will never really have an open mind. But to the few who do read my little spiel, maybe, hopefully, I've persuaded you to look at things differently, and really, that's all I can hope for.

*Names have been altered due to privacy reasons