Vinceland

I didn’t coin the phrase “Girls are the new Guys.” It might have been Denis, I can’t remember. But over and over, this theme has been repeatedly evidenced in the behavior, attitudes and general outlook of the ladies that are around me. It’s possible that no better example of this theory exists but in the very woman I call, my wife.

Call it empowerment, call it equality, call it women’s liberties, call it Grrrrrrrrllll. From what I can tell, ladies are owning shit, and making sure everyone else knows about it. And if you don’t know, or don’t care to know, they could care less, they’re still going to go their own way. They’ve got their own money, their own jobs, their own opinions, their own cars, their own lives, and if you want to be along for the ride, you’re welcomed, if you can keep up.

Don’t believe me or get what I’m sayin’? Next time you’re at a party around Portland, see who’s drinking the most, dropping the most spent butts in the bucket, dancing the hardest come 2am, or making the loudest raucous. I’d guess the dudes at the party were either watching sports on TV, cleaning up after the girls, or passed out already. Are the guys around here turning into wusses?

Maybe it’s just Portland that affects the boost in confidence in these women? But everywhere I go around here, I see, hear and bear witness to girls acting “like guys”. I am talking about girls that have professional careers, are young, have dough, with or without children and making the big decisions with all the power that the dude used to have back in the day.

I think it’s all coming together for girls who have talent, confidence and money, to spend time doing what they want to do without worrying about convention, old-school rules or someone telling them what to do. In a social sense, they are going to use the freedom they have to the fullest, and if that means pissing some people off, so be it. If that means dancing and drinking and talking shit out loud, so be it. If that means expecting more of everyone around you, from potential mates, to potential employers, so be it.

With confidence, comes power. With power, comes responsibility. With responsibility, comes expectations. With expectations, comes performance. With performance, comes confidence. And so it grows…

You might know a girl who falls in this category if you’ve experienced any of the following behaviors:

• Frequent use of 4 letter words at volume.
• Very little restriction on word use/ sensitivity in conversations, regardless of the members in the conversation or those within earshot.
• Can you say “Earmuffs”?
• Has very high expectations of those who work with and those who work around her. If they can’t live up to the standard, they’re left behind.
• Keeps their standards high for the men they meet and chill with, and making sure those below the standard barely get the time of day.
• Frequently in the midst of doing real estate deals, beating up on car salespeople, and interviewing for new careers in different cities, on the company’s dime.
• Did I mention the increased alcohol consumption, that in comparison makes most of the guys look like rookies?
• Tend to work in fast-paced, creative environments, driving projects from start to finish, with men in tow, and most of the time taking full responsibility for success of the project, both creatively and financially.
• Not letting motherhood slow them down in the least. IE: Drop the kids off at a friend’s house, head out for a weekend with friends. Want to go out to a swimming hole? Baby is coming along and will sit on the bank. Want to work from home on creative projects and sell them over the Internet? Make it happen during nap time and after the kids and hubby go to bed.
• Leaving stuff around the yard in random places (clippings, flower pots, gardening gloves)
• Leaving stuff around the house in random places (shoes, mail, clothing items)
• Generally leaving stuff around.
• Recently joined “Moms Who Rock” and generally rocks.
• Uses the phrase “I don’t give a shit.” quite often and actually doesn’t.
• 3 Words: Mike’s-Hard-Lemonade
• Wants to drive your new car/ truck more than you do.
• Uses Flickr, Wordpress and Blogger more than you do.

It comes down to this: If you want something, there are ways to get it. If you have the confidence to go get it, it can be yours. From a new kitchen to a new career, to a new hot tub to a stiff martini, girls I know will either go get it, or tell someone to go get it for them. And more often than not, they get what they want. Decision making with confidence is turning girls into the “new guys”. Careers and time and money seem to facilitate the behavior. And it’s pretty fun to watch and call them out on it.

Call me what you want, I don’t ever feel threatened by the girls who are the new guys. In fact, I am glad they all have their own things going on. Keeps everyone happy and productive. And if your manhood feels threatened by any of this, I know a few ladies who would shout out a big, “Well, f%#@ you then!”.