Macho vs Sissy

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 mkx.feridot.com

vs

 

  http://lasthopeanimalrescue.org/2012/07/sissy/

What is macho and what is sissy is a matter of perception and bias...of a person, a group and a generation. And perceptions change with time and place.

Thurber wrote a piece called The American Literary Scene which is a spoof of what a visiting British journalist would have reported about literary folks in the US of his times. Here is a quote:

"A novelist or essayist is likely to get to his feet, on his twentieth or twenty-first highball, and announce that he is 'the greatest goddam writer in the world' or that one of his friends is. This is instantly challenged by one or more candidates for the special distinction of the greatest goddam writer in the world. The commonest terms of opprobrium during these debates are: interior decorator, poet, chef, florist, and milliner, since Americans believe that a talent in any of these directions is prima facie evidence of a lack of virility, or at the very least a dearth of the true go-getter spirit." 

For that generation of American writers Papa Hemingway is macho since he lived dangerously, wrote coolly about death and shot himself in the head and died. On the other hand, Dorothy Parker (my favorite) was a sissy since she wrote verses and pined for death by suicide but died of heart attack and alcohol at 73. 

Feynman was always concerned that he was a sissy:

"The sophomores tied up all the freshmen relatively easily...except me. I didn't want the guys in the fraternity to find out that I was a "sissy" (I was never any good at sports...)" 

So he went to great lengths such as brawling in bar-bathrooms and getting a black eye, out of a fear of being thought a sissy...a case of overcompensation.

I was, am, and forever will be a sissy in worldly affairs...just for the record...although I never brawled to hide it.

So, let me enumerate my Gen's perception of what was macho and what sissy:

At school, English was macho...those few who could write it and speak it were heroes. Telugu was sissy...most of the great works in classical Telugu were in poetry.

Football was macho and ring tennis sissy.

At our University, sciences were macho and arts sissy...no engineering then amidst us.

Among sciences, Physics was macho and Biology sissy...lots of girls in there.

Among arts Law was macho (all our great freedom fighters had law degrees under their belts). The elected Union President was always from the Law College. Literature was sissy...girls and girly profs again there aplenty.

In the Medical College (preclinical), Anatomy was macho...they cut corpses there.  Physiology was sissy...they sent current through frog's twitching legs at best.

This side of the hill (the clinical side) Surgery was macho and Gynie was sissy...for obvious reasons.

At IIT KGP, we found ourselves amidst engineers whom we considered lacking culture since they didn't have to read 17 English books in their Part I. 

But among them, Mech Engineering was macho and Architecture sissy...the dept was full of girls.

Among sciences Physics was macho and Geology sissy...they just went round collecting stones and getting stoned.

Among physics guys, Particle Physics was macho and Solid State sissy...they never got any shock...working with 12 volts maximum...Particle Physics needed accelerators of so many many GeV...

After retirement I found hardcore Psychiatry was macho...they had to deal with dangerous patients (like me). Counseling was sissy...mostly manned by women.

And finally Blogging is macho unlike Tweeting...

www.mrsmass.com

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