At some point in your life, you must have heard someone say this to a boy—
Are, kya janaana harkat kar rahe ho?
Means
"Why are you behaving like a girl?"Or—
Jananiyon ki tarah kyun ro rahe ho?
Means
"Why are you crying like a woman?"
As children, we never really questioned these things. Perhaps because we were taught the same thing: boys don't cry, boys don't get scared, boys aren't supposed to be delicate… and most importantly—boys are not supposed to be feminine.
And then, somewhere in that same childhood, we read a line—
Khoob ladi mardani, woh to Jhansi wali Rani thi.
means
She fought like a man; she was the Queen of Jhansi."
We didn't question that either. We simply read it with pride and moved on.
But if you stop and think about it for a moment, there is something rather strange about it. Calling a boy "Janani/feminine" is an insult… while calling a girl "Mardani/masculine" is a compliment. One carries shame; the other carries glory. Why?
Because somewhere along the way, we made "masculine" synonymous with strength, courage and capability, while "feminine" became associated with weakness, delicacy and inferiority.
But the funny thing is—the story seems to be changing now.
These days, if a man cooks for his girl, cleans the house for her, massages her tired feet, remembers her little preferences, listens to her problems and gives her emotional support… girls don't necessarily look at him and say "Ugh! How feminine!" Quite the opposite—sometimes they look at him and say "Damn, that's sexy!"
And Korean dramas have a little something to do with it.
No, no… not a little something. They have put their hands, feet, body, heart, brain, kidneys—everything—into changing our preferences! 😂 Because K-dramas have given us heroes who cook for their women, clean the house, massage their feet, remember the tiniest details about them and, when the moment calls for it, actually open up about their feelings.
And us? Somewhere along the way, while watching all this, we have reached the point where—
"A man who takes care of you, cooks for you and massages your tired feet… isn't feminine. He's husband material!" 😄
Perhaps this is where our old definition of masculinity starts getting a little confused.
If a woman being brave makes her "masculine," then why should a man being caring make him "feminine"? If a strong woman is something to celebrate, then why should a gentle man be considered any less?
Maybe the problem was never with being "masculine" or "feminine." The problem was that we turned these two words into an insult and an applause—call a boy feminine, insult; call a girl masculine, applause.
But having men like this today isn't merely about changing the meaning of these words. It is also a necessity of the times we live in.
Today, when both husband and wife are working, when both are stepping out into the world and carrying their own responsibilities, why should the responsibility of the home belong to only one of them? If both earn, both can take care of the home. If both come home tired, both can support each other.
Cooking, cleaning, taking care of the children, doing the laundry, or massaging your partner's tired feet—none of these things are masculine or feminine. They are simply household chores. And when both partners are working, the home belongs to both of them—and so does the responsibility of running it.
So perhaps a man doing these things is not a sign that he is becoming "feminine"… it is simply a sign of the times.
And perhaps the best part is that women today aren't merely accepting this change—they actually seem to like it. 😄
इसे हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें — 👉 जनाना गाली से मर्दाना ताली तक: कैसे बदल रही है मर्दानगी की परिभाषा!
Thanks for stopping by.
See you in the next read!
...Anu
Spill. Stir. Stay tuned — because not all drama belongs in court.
#Masculinity #ModernMen #GenderRoles #GenderEquality #CaringMen #HusbandMaterial #ModernRelationships #EqualPartnership #SharedResponsibilities #WorkingCouples #KDrama #KDramaEffect #KoreanDramas #ChangingTimes #SocialCommentary
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