One Point for the Feminists

I am definitely not a feminist. I often roll my eyes at those females who INSIST that they can do anything a guy can do. I have no problem letting guys be the strong ones and carry all the heavy things and do the hard manual labor. In fact, I am always impressed when a guy notices me struggling with something and offers to help or, even better, to carry it for me. What can I say? I was raised by a Daddy who is always a gentleman and who trained my awesome older brother to be a gentleman as well! So, I love it when I meet other gentlemen who open doors and carry heavy things for me!

All that aside, I have recently found that there is one place where my femininity falls by the wayside and I find myself trying to out-do the guys around me: the weight room. For some reason, everything in me wants to be able to see a guy lifting weights and say (to a nearby female, I would never rob a man of his masculinity by saying this to his face) "I can lift more than that!" Weight lifting in its essence is a rather masculine thing to do, so I guess that explains this strange, yet persistent, urge to beat a guy at his own game.

Fortunately for the males in the weight room (and to the relief of my feminine side), I have been unable to attain this goal. Occasionally, I will see a guy lifting less than I do, but before the boasting words of triumph can leave my mouth I realize that he's doing twice as many repetitions, or, as happened one time, he is only using one leg where I use both. The beast within continues to wait in anticipation, but my hopes are not quite as high as they once were.

HOWEVER, today I had an experience that temporarily satisfied the monster. I had just laid down on a bench to do sit-ups when I heard a guy say, "Woah, is that a bruise?" Noticing him staring at my knee, I figured he was talking to me and responded in the affirmative.

"How did that happen?" he asked.

"Oh, a girl fell on me at practice."

"Wow, I've never had a bruise like that!"

With those few words that guy made my day! Yes!!!!!! I had out-done a guy in the weight room! Granted, it had nothing to do with lifting weights, but that didn't matter to my exaltant little mind! I had won!

I don't know what I said after that, but I know that while I remained calm and indifferent on the outside, the beast was dancing for joy. Oh, the bliss of victory!