I like to drink beer. Whenever I go to the bar, I’m not the girl ordering a cranberry vodkaor a red wine ora cosmo. Nope. I’m orderingan IPA. Lately, I’ve been into Goose Island, in case you were curious. This surprises people, especially guys.They’re like, “Wow, a girl who drinks beer! That’sawesome.” And then I suddenlybecome coolerthan every womanthey know. I’m always flattered when this happens, but I can’t help but wonderwhy it’s so “awesome” that I like beer. Even my boyfriend makes a point to say that he loves that I like beer. Why does the fact that I like beer have any meaning other than the fact that I like it? Perhaps it’s because women aren’t “supposed” to likebeer. After all, beer is very much marketed toward men. You don’t see beer commercials starring prettygirls in slinkydresses — you see bros yelling in football jerseys or hanging at pubs. And if there are pretty girls in slinky dresses, they’re usually what comesas a RESULTof drinking beer.Beer is the masculine force thatmakesmen friends and helpsthem attract all the women they want. So,I get it. Beer is for dudes. And if a girl likes beer, it’s cool because it’s kind of unexpected. Let’s turn the tables for a second. What if a guy orders a cosmopolitan? Men aren’t “supposed” to likecosmopolitans.“Sex and the City” made it clearthat cosmopolitans are for women, which means it would totally be unexpected for a guy to order a cosmopolitan.Doesn’t that mean that it’s cool, in the same way that it’s cool for a woman to order a beer? No. Nobody in his or herright mind would think a guy ordering a cosmopolitan is cool. Butwhy? Well, I have a theory. Ifit’s cool when a woman does a masculine thing, and it’s lame when a man does a feminine thing, that means masculine things are betterthan feminine things. That, ladies and gentleman, means our reactions to people’sbeveragechoices havenothing to do with how unexpected the choicesare. Ourreactions have everything to do with sexism. Yes, sexism.Even in the subtle nuances of your drink choiceon a Friday night. This particular form of sexism is not super obvious, but I bet it affects men all the time. I bet lots of men feel a lot of pressure to order something MANLY at the bar, evenif all theywant is something that tastesfruity and delicious. They feel like they have to go OUT OF THEIR WAY to order something that isn’ttoo “girly.” Which, to be honest, sounds like an unnecessarily stressful way to demean women. Our societyneeds to do better. Advertisers andproducers of TV showsandmoviesneed to stopassigninggender tof*cking alcoholic beverages. Why did Don Draper have to drink so much whiskey in “Mad Men”? Surely he could have wanteda cranberry vodka at somepoint, right? I mean, those taste pretty refreshing. Let the man have acranberry vodka every once in a while. Let the man do something GIRLY. (GASP!) What? Is there somethingwrongwith being girly? Because I sure as hell don’t think so. In fact, I think girly is pretty damn cool. The amount of times I’ve heard guys rag on each other for ordering something that isn’t a beer or a whiskey on the rocks is not OK. We need to let menorder whatever they want at the bar without making fun of them. If a guy wants to order a goddamn cranberry vodka, LET HIM ORDER IT (and ladies, don’t judge him for it). Stop making him feel bad for doing something feminine. Stop contributing toa system that hates women. And ifall of thismeans I won’t be cool for ordering beer anymore, then so be it. I will gladly stop being cool for liking beer so men can feel betterordering cranberry vodkas. Because THAT’Sthe kind of feminist I am. from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/why-men-should-not-be-afraid-to-order-cranberry-vodkas-at-the-bar/ from https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/174929972942
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