Objectifying Boys (and men)

Many girls hate when guys objectify them. When guys think of girls as nothing more than a thing to use as they please, someone to control, etc.

But amidst all their complaining of how guys are evil, selfish beings, and that there no good guys left, most girls are doing the same thing they hate those guys for - creating unrealistic images out of men for their own desires.

Here are three ways we as girls objectify men. Remember, these are just my personal convictions and things I've noticed in other girls and the subsequent consequences of what they did/ did not do. :)

1. Flirting: Selfish Means of Drawing Attention

When a girl does this she is not thinking of the guy in a very nice way. He's become an object in her mind, one she is trying to conquer for her own personal and emotional reasons.
She is not thinking of him as a friend. She is not considering ways that she can help him .... but of ways that he can please her. Be something to her.
One who flirts with a guy does so to satisfy her own wants.

2. Dramatizing About Guys Through Discussions or Media

I've seen this done in several ways: blogging, social media, literature, and friends. In every situation girls will talk about real and fictional guys with unrealistic ideals about them.
I will use 16 year old fictional characters Jana and her friend Carol to explain what I mean of how girls do this with boys.

example 1:
Jana, has several "guy friends". Not that this is bad. She texts them all regularly. This is not necessarily bad either.
But her whole life is wrapped around these guys.
One evening after a terribly long, stressful day Jana gets on facebook. Her friend, Chad, is on, so she sends him a message.
He doesn't reply as soon as she'd like.
She sends out quick messages to her three other friends, Bryon, Luke, and Tim who are also on facebook.
Soon after one of them replies. She gives a quick squeal of delight and texts back.
Not long after this most of her guy friends are texting Jana. Her fingers are typing rapidly as she talks to each of them.
One of her girl-friends, Carol, sends a message to Jana. Jana replies...only after having replied to each of the other guys multiple times first. They chat a bit, but Jana is disinterested with her best friend right now and doesn't keep her part of the conversation up.
Soon she's just facebook messaging her guy friends.
Jana feels like her day has been pretty good after all as she finally goes to bed late that night, all her stress gone.

example 2:
"Have you started Mocking Jay yet?" Carol runs up to Jana the next day.
"A little. Isn't Peeta so great in this one?"
"Yaaass!!!"
Jana smiles and pulls the book from her bag, "Just listen to this!" She reads a part from the book depicting their favorite character doing a particular thing.
"I can't wait for the last movie to be released!" Carol sighs as Jana finishes reading.
"Which reminds me," Jana squeals. "There's a new movie coming out next month and you won't believe who acts in it?"
"Who!?" Carol asks, eyes big. As Jana tells her, Carol returns, "Not him! Oh, I'm just dying to see that!"

example 3:
Later that night Carol is excited because a certain guy messaged her - first!
She quickly calls Jana to let her know of the "good news".
"No way!" Jana giggles. "What did he say? Really!?"
Carol must have asked Jana how her guy life was doing, because Jana next says, "Really good. Chad messages me a lot still. But guess who has started talking to me more!? Jordyn!!! I know! I still don't know which I like best. He has just like the greatest hair ever, but Jordyn is just so sweet!"

I think it's pretty obvious that these girls are boy crazy :/
But the way people even do this online and in real life, about unreal or real guys is just as sickening.
Whether talking about all the awesome guys in Twilight, Hunger Games, or Lord of The Rings. Or comparing and dreaming about boy-celebrities in music and TV. Or swooning over the terribly chivalrous men of the Jana Austin era literature, girls are comparing each guy to how their future husband will someday be by making "objects" and idols out of them.
Girls, what we are doing is "drooling" ( and not so figuratively ) over men in an unladylike way. As if they were made just to please us...

But there's another way many of us objectify guys, forgetting they are human...

3. "I just can't talk to guys.";

"Wait... how's that objectifying boys????"

This is the most common and subtle way girls dehumanize men. A lot of my readers might not relate to my first two points... but many of you may be in this third category.

A while back I read a book by Elizabeth and Anna Sofia Botkin. I disagreed with most of their book and thought it too extreme, but they made one very crucial point in their book.

"Boys are people, too."

When you say you can't talk to guys in a specific age range you are automatically saying that you do not see these certain men as people but as objects, and instead of reacting with flirting, you ignore them totally.

You are forgetting that they are people.
Just think about it. I know guys that act so shy and won't hardly speak a word to girls. This irritates me to death. People tend to classify me more in the first category as I can be "too" friendly so I take it as rude when people ( even guys) won't talk to me.

I'm like, "Come on, dude! This is just a conversation not a marriage proposition." Lol. If a guy can't talk to me he's got problems.

The same thing goes for girls who won't talk to guys.
What do most guys think when we won't talk to them?

It can actually be worse to not talk to a guy than to flirt with him because not talking to a guy shows that you are so interested in him as a guy that you can't talk to him, yet aren't interested enough to find out more about him as a person.

But how should we treat guys?
We should treat guys our age just like anybody else any other age. If the occasion calls for it, say "hi!".  Ask how they are doing. Start a conversation. Be friendly, be appropriate. Don't "drool". Don't ignore.

If they are disinterested, don't force them to keep talking, or if they walk away, let them, just like you would any other person.
That's their problem. All you can do is be sociable. If they move on, do the same yourself. Talk to the next person - guy or girl.

 If they objectify you that's their problem, but don't be guilty of doing the same thing.
If you know someone, don't ignore them - even if they are a guy.
It's not wrong to initiate or have conversations with guys, even multiple guys. What's wrong is thinking of guys in an unrealistic way and how you react to those thoughts.

And for the benefit of my many girl friends that like boys - I'm not saying it's wrong to like guys or even want to get married. I'm not even saying it's wrong to flirt. Or that being shy is synonymous with being evil.

I'm saying treat guys like people. Don't idolize them. Don't hurt them by flirting with them. Think of them, not yourself. Build relationships that are meaningful, don't stay stuck in your discomfort of objectification.

And also, make sure to keep the multiple girls in your life, too. Don't just have friends that are guys. That's just weird, and choosing your friends a little too closely. ;)
Don't objectify specific people or ideas about people, but be a friend to all people. Of course even when being friends with guys, there's a balance.
It's extremely hard when trying not to flirt to accidentally fall into category 3, or when trying to not be rude to become too flirty.

And you can't quite treat guys as you would your close girl friends, but you can treat them as friends, as people deserving respect and friendship, without being awkward or rude or flirty. :D

What do you think of my thoughts on this? As a girl, do you get classified as a certain type when around guys? What are some things you think you can do to be a better friend to EVERYONE? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!