Have we finally found an issue where the two sexes can come to a consensus? Or is there still a disparity in the opinions of the genders? HOOKED delves deep into the minds of a guy and girl to find out more.
He Says:
With the Olympics just gone by, and all the sound and fury
from the spectacle, it was inevitable that this would be the
‘champions’ issue. And being the ‘champions’ issue, this column just
had to look at this idea, this concept, of a ‘champion’.
The word ‘champion’
conjures up many different images in our minds. For some, it calls
forth an image of an athlete standing atop his winner’s podium, arms
held up high in triumph and a gold medal hanging from his neck. Others
see a person that they admire, a hero of theirs. In our (humble)
opinion, men and women have differing sets of traits, or qualities,
that they associate with a ‘champion’. We speculate on a few of them:
Men, in their deepest, most primordial state of being,
are hunters. The qualities which they admire, and attribute to people
they call ‘champions’, are thus qualities of the best hunters. Courage,
determination, talent and their ilk are examples of these qualities.
Men see a champion as having the courage to overcome daunting odds or
to burst through their own fears. For many men, a champion is someone
like Sir Edmund Hilary, the first man to climb Mount Everest. He
climbed a mountain which many held to be impossible to climb. Many had
tried, and some had died. Nevertheless, he climbed the mountain, and in
doing so, shrugged off his fear, doubt and psychological limitation. He
went up a mountain, but he overcame himself. This courage is, in
essence, what many men see as being a trait of a champion.
Perseverance is another such trait. Champions are those
who keep trudging on, despite hardship, setbacks and naysayers. It’s
the great unseen force behind all champions. Perseverance drives
athletes like Michael Phelps to train in the pool, swimming from one
end to another countless times, on countless days. It makes champions
not only from the people who win, but also those who try. Rosa Parks
was such a champion. She was a pioneer in the civil rights movement in
America. It must have taken a singular sort of determination to refuse
to give up her seat on that fateful day, and make a stand for her
people, in the face of overwhelming racial prejudice. It was this
determination that made her a champion, even beyond the mere leagues of
shiny medals.
Champions, for many of us,
are people of great ability. There are sportsmen and women, who have
amazing physical prowess. Great musicians who produce melodies that
touch us. Mathematicians and scientists who make discoveries that
change our lives. All these people are, for many, champions,
exceptional individuals who enable to us to see life not just as it is,
but as it might be.
A champion, however, need not be a genius. For me,
champions could also be those with the courage to face everyday life..
Champions are the single parents, who have to juggle a job (sometimes
two) and raising their child. They are the disabled people, who
struggle constantly with their handicaps. Champions could be the
domestic maids, who have left home and family to find a living.
These are the essential qualities that many men see in
champions. We’ll see also the what women perceive as the traits of a
champions. I suspect, however, that we’ll find that, in essence, they
are much the same.
She Says:
Champion n person or animal that wins a competition
If you thought that girls are the weaker sex, you are sorely mistaken.
According to the Longman dictionary, a champion is someone who
wins the competition. Alternatively, you can generalise and say that
champions have the traits of being aggressive and dogged – all
stereotypically traits of the male. Nevertheless, ladies too have their
fair share of being competitive. Determination is an essential quality
if you are to be a champion – regardless male or female. You need to
have the strength to pick yourself up after you fall.
But if we veer away from the generic notion of a sports
champion, we can see how every day we also do incorporate the notion of
being a champion, particularly a female champion. To some, the
workplace and the university is a chance to prove that they are a
champion. For girls, breaking the all-too-familiar ‘glass ceiling’ is
an indication that you are a champion. And in university, the 5.0 CAP
(Cumulative Average Point) is a sure sign you have made it.
There are also those who view their relationships as a measure
of how successful they are. Being able to juggle strong family ties,
best friends and a relationship with a guy is a sign that they have all
their bases covered.
But there are some things where the girls have an advantage
over the guys. The girls have what we call ‘Women’s Intuition’. It’s
the gut feeling each woman has in them that tells them whether
something is wrong, or going to be wrong. This is something that the
girls can hold claim to. It helps us make better decisions when it
comes to winning. Many men underestimate this power because they do not
understand it.
Another thing we girls have is our gentler side. Yes, we do have the
claws when we compete but we retract them many a times as well and
provide one another with a pillar of strength when required. Sure we
may be competitors, but who says you cannot be friends?
There is a story that goes that when God made women, she had to
be special. He made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of
the world, and yet, gentle enough to give comfort. And that is what
makes a girl a champion with the extra edge –the humane side. Perhaps
this is the missing element in global affairs.
The girls who not only hold their own, but thrive, be it in
business or politics - now that is a champion. We have equal
intelligence and equal wit but, Honey, we have twice the charm. Hooked
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