Last year during my senior year, we were asked to read an article written by an avid feminist who didn’t believe women should be treated like queens in movies and television because it “degrades their individual strength” (I know it is stupid, but please bear with me).

After reading the article, my English teacher (female) asked the class a simple question: Do movies and television cause women to have higher standards than they would otherwise? After a few people argued adamantly back and forth, I interrupted.

I gave a loud whistle with two fingers, and the whole class shut up and looked my direction. I said (not an exact quote), I don’t believe that movies are the sole cause of the issue. They are a small part, but the root of the problem is because that is how men, actually treat women when they want them: like royalty. And after decades upon decades of doing that, it becomes normal. And while I do believe that part of that is due to Hollywood and media lying to us about how women truly want to be treated, another part of it is just the general attitude of “you have to respect women simply because they are women”.

I have a very strict criteria for whom I respect, and there are only 3 people in this world that have my implicit respect: my mother, uncle, and grandpa. Everyone has to earn it.

I said to the class “if you’d like an example, how many of you have seen the notebook?” All the women raised there hand, and 2 or 3 men did. And I, having been forced to watch it with my now (thankfully) ex-girlfriend, know the plot. So I told the class “Alright, now for all of you non-pussy whipped men in this room allow my to enlighten you. The man gives up almost every ounce of himself to get this women. At one point I believe he even hung from a Ferris wheel and threatened to drop and die if she did not agree to go on a date with him.”

Some smartass told me “you’ve just proved women demand respect because of movies”, and I politely asked him to let me finish.

I then said “All that being said, I do not go and watch movies like Commando, The Expendables, or Rambo, and then leave the theatre believing I could realistically kill an entire army of soldiers just because I saw it on the screen, do I?” And everyone answered no.

I then finished by saying that the movies and film that portray the types of scenarios where a man gives up everything for a women do not directly cause women’s expectations to go up, it is the fact that the poor men who were forced to watch it have to walk out of the theatre listening to their girlfriend talk about how good it was, to the point where they begin to believe that is what they need to do to get a women.

After finishing up, the whole class was silent for about 10 seconds kind of in the “did he just say that?” type of way. Eventually one kid spoke up and went “That’s based as fuck” and the whole class kind of laughed it off, but my next period someone from my first period brought it up and everyone hated me for being “sexist”. Didn’t really affect me though, I’m used to it now. Just thought I would share this bit of wisdom I had.