The Sad Demise of the Male Chauvinist

I really can't help it if the title seems to have been lifted straight out of some kind of an obituary, for this post is going to be about the now-extinct Male-Chauvinist species which used to roam about freely upon this planet till about two decades ago.

The kind of men I'm talking about here, used to be the ones who could be seen opening the doors for their wives/girlfriends/female acquaintances; they drew out chairs for women, and stood behind them while they sat down; they were well-groomed, and could be noticed from afar in a crowd; they chatted pleasantly with women and genuinely seemed interested in what they had to say, no matter how trivial it was in reality; and most importantly, they footed the bills(just joking!).

Those fine men of yore have now been somehow replaced by brash, loud, unfeeling cads who have little idea as to how to go about behaving in the presence of members of the fairer sex. They are in some serious need of grooming lessons along with tutorials on "How to Carry Yourself with Elegance in Public". What's more, they have no clue that they actually resemble tramps when they are dressed-up in those hippie-style clothes, and that they can actually look presentable in carefully-chosen casual-wear and formal-wear.

Maybe these men should try and take a leaf out of their grandfathers' diaries and try to learn a thing or two about "How to Behave Like a Gentleman".

But then, coming to think about it, maybe it's not about dressing-up elegantly, or opening-up the doors, or drawing-out the chairs, or saying the right things, or even declining to go Dutch; maybe it's just about the long-forgotten tradition of being nice to women and giving them the respect which is due to them. I guess, this one ability is what is totally missing in today's men, generally speaking. It is the whole-and-sole thing which makes us women wonder if chauvinism is actually dead and buried. Maybe this is what makes us look at the male-crowd of the present-day and then shake our heads dejectedly at the "Fall of Man".

I hope all you "gentlemen" out there, are listening!!

The Adoration of Rhett Butler

I am now beginning to fully realise the benefits of having named my blog "Nothing Very Specific". You see, this kind of a name lets you write about just anything and everything you ever wanted to write about (now that's what you call smart thinking, no?). 

This latest post concerns itself, as the title suggests, with the one and only Rhett Butler. Yes, all you "Gone With The Wind" lovers, even I am one of you! I fell in love with this book (and not to mention, the afore-mentioned character), the very first time I read it, which was way back in 2005 when I had just cleared my Class XII CBSE Board exams. It's been five years since then and I've re-read this book about 15-16 times, and I'm sure I wouldn't mind reading it all again.

Now coming to the topic of Rhett Butler, what I really like about this character, is his total disregard (a mild term, of course) for just anything that does not fit into the realm of rational thinking and common sense. 


He is this eternal enigma which has never failed to arouse the curiosity of people, especially women, all over the planet, even after all these years. He is absolutely selfish, but still respects the quality of selflessness in others; he's no "gentleman", but he's capable of giving due respect to a "lady"; he ridicules the efforts of his own people, and then goes on and joins the war when they are about to lose; he despises Southern customs, but then embraces them nevertheless for the sake of his daughter; he loves Scarlet, but wouldn't let her know lest she begins to use this against him; he loves her madly, but still urges her to use her "charms" to find a husband for herself when she needs the money to save Tara; he abandons her midway while on her way to home when anybody would've "got her" even though he'd risked his life to get her out of Atlanta in the first place; he loves her even when he knows that she loves Ashley...


He personifies impunity, ardour, charm, foresight, rationality and practicality. He's a curious mix of apathy and concern; love and hatred; thoughtfulness and thoughtlessness; passion and placidness. What really takes the cake is the fact that almost nothing seems to bother him, "ruffle his feathers", or even, surprise him for that matter. He can be as composed as The Pacific or as torrential as a tempest. He makes you wonder if there ever could be something that would make him give two hoots to it (remember "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"?).


He can easily make you hate him, and then make you love him again the very next moment, effortlessly. 


One moment, you would be tempted to call him a cad and then voilà, the next moment you'd be encouraging his generosity. In fact, Rhett Butler is someone who can charm you into loving him even when your mind would repeatedly warn you against doing anything of this sort.


Some character, this one!!