Who has been the most eager to bring out this elimination between the sexes? Without doubt the women! The women who have been op- pressed by the men from time immemorial. The girls have taken on that which, for them, is the masculine symbol of power-the trousers, and made them part of their own clothes. And naturally the women, conscious or unconscious, will welcome every step the men take to adopt some of the attributes that are called feminine and which for her have hitherto been symbols of weakness. She feels that man is knocked off his pedestal and his throne when he lets his hair grow long and wears feminine things.
At every pop concert where the musicians are young long haired boys with high heeled shoes, bracelets and unconventional clothes, the girls are the most enthusiastic (and hysterical) when they hear and see the long haired boys. The young girl is proud to dance with her boy- friend when he is dressed exactly like herself and with her hairstyle. If you stand outside a dance hall watching the young people arriving it will often be quite impossible for you to see if it is a girl or a boy who enters the hall. Both wear trousers and shoes of the same style, both have long hair, both wear identical jackets buttoned on the same side. It is quite common that the girl gives her boyfriend a girl's name. Often the boy uses a double name adding a feminine name to his masculine name by a hyphen such as Karl-Astrid, Tom-Jenny etc. The feminine name is used by the boy's friends as a quite natural thing when they speak to him. Some of the boys have got their ears pierced and wear a ring or a pearl like their girlfriends. It is not uncommon that the boys use a bow in their thick long hair when out dancing. Eye makeup, lip- sticks and other cosmetics are used by some of the more advanced young boys and men, but generally only on nights when together with their girlfriends. It is obvious that many of the boys have an urge to identify themselves with their girlfriends and be happy twosomes.
But how do adults react? It is a study in itself. Naturally there is a lot of reaction.
As a passenger in a bus, I one day observed the following episode. Some 18-year-old, long haired boys entered the bus. They were quiet and polite, but nevertheless an elderly lady got hold of the sleeve of one of them saying: "You are one of those where I cannot see if you are a boy or a girl! Are you a he or a she?" —The boy did not answer, be- cause he was more polite, decent and well-mannered than the elderly lady. What interest might that old woman have in knowing the sex of
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