Would a female Fight Club have the same impact as the male Fight Club?

            Would Legally blonde be the same if Edward Norton or Brad Pitt played Reese Witherspoon’s character? No. Would Sophie’s Choice be the same if Sophie was a man? Doubtfully. Would Star War’s be the same if Hon Solo was Bonnie Golo? Definitely not. These questions could be endless (think of 300 or Braveheart especially), but the question they start to bring up is rather clear: Are men and women different? Without a doubt. Now does this mean that men and women are unequal? Not really. I could have ten chocolate bars and ten vanilla bars, now they are both delicious and equal in amount, but they definitely taste differently and people have their preferences.

Up until recently women were not allowed to fight in war or even work in an office (and I am only applying this to America). Now while the latter is completely unreasonable, since women are just as mentally fit to perform in an office as men are, the former (participation in war) does not seem nearly as unreasonable to me. This is not sexist, I repeat, this is not sexist (at least in a classical sense). Woman and men are physically different; this is not even worth an argument, but of course I will have to. From a physical perspective, men are more suited for war, and inherently physical fighting. This is not because of bias or opinion, but rather evolution and biology. This may be a cliché argument, but if we look at the top world times in all ground races men hold all of them. Just because I am saying woman are not as suited for the physical requirements of war as men, I am not saying that women are physically disabled. In fact, woman may be considered more physically able since they are able to literally produce a human being from only an egg and sperm, and then hold/house that same human being in a womb (that their body creates) for an astonishing nine months. Even if I wanted to perform that physical miracle of reproduction, I could not. It is not only humans that have gender related roles, but also animals and insects. Just look at the role of the male preying mantis after the female preying mantis delivers offspring, in summary the male gets his head bitten off by the female.

Going back to fight club, I do not believe a female fight club would have nearly the same effect as a male fight club since it would not be nearly as relatable or even realistic. Woman can fight, though I don’t support it, and they can fight very rough. Some of the fiercest fights I have heard of are “cat” fights; they are extremely vicious and with long hair come more bald spots. When I look for a woman, I do not look for a woman that can physically defend me, rather I try to find a woman I can protect and I hope that she finds that in me and feels an increased security. So does this mean that women are weak and only serve as delicate objects meant for male protection? Of course not, I would be lost without women and they often challenge me mentally and spiritually more than any philosophical question I have ever encountered. Women are beautiful and I don’t want to see them fight, and if I saw a movie that had women acting like apes (men), I would want to punch the guy that directed it.  So does this mean that male fighting doesn’t bother me as much? Yes. I am more accustomed to it, not only because of my culture, but also because of my genetics. I, as a man, produce testosterone (enabling me to put on muscle, and lessening my body fat percentage) to a much higher degree than women; while women produce a much higher amount of estrogen (thought to help with the immune system and maybe stress). These hormones affect our behaviors in different ways, producing a result that makes men and women different. These differences also mean that a man is generally more fit and able to fight; so if an average male were to fight an average female the male would win the majority of the time. This is probably why culture and society view it as less acceptable for a man to hit a woman, then a woman to hit a man. To me that makes a lot of reasonable sense, as woman are less inherently/physically able to defend themselves when fighting a man.

 During childbirth a hormone called oxytocin is responsible for helping with contractions, so that the baby may be delivered properly. A stimulation of the female’s nipples (don’t laugh), helps to increase the production of oxytocin, so during childbirth such stimulation is not unheard of. Interestingly, oxytocin has more than just one role, it is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone” since it increases one’s feeling of empathy and care. So after childbirth, the baby needs milk. Fortunately, the baby can suckle on his/her mother’s nipples to provide himself/herself with milk, though at the same time the baby is providing his/her mother with an increase in the production of oxytocin. This results in a more caring mother. It would seem as if nature wanted the mother to care for their child. Now where does this leave the man of the relationship? Well if the mother needs to care for the baby, than the man must care for the woman. This need for protection and care may result in the man needing to fight for his woman’s security. When a man wins a fight and succeeds in protecting his lover, he tends feels pride and sense of accomplishment. Sometimes this sense of pride overflow’s and results in the man feeling a need to fight, even when a situation does not entirely demand it. From fighting a man can sometimes feel purpose, and feeling purpose is an indescribably wonderful sensation. With this argument, I will also argue that it is more natural for a man to fight. Now one may say that it is unfair that a man is more able in this type of situation, and that women should be just as able. It then may be proposed that we take away these physical differences and make a society were there is no gender difference. No men, and no women. Just people. Yet what is that makes culture and society so beautiful? Is it by ignoring differences and embracing similarities? I would have to argue that it is by embracing and appreciating differences and recognizing the similarities that arise from these differences. I may be a man, but I believe in love and would love to have a woman love me as I love her. I would never marry myself, not because I’m not absolutely perfect, but because I appreciate the differences that my love would have, not only for being a woman, but also for being a unique individual and human being. I enjoy differences and would hate for this world to be entirely similar and therefore infinitely boring. So is the message in fight club unable to be expressed if the lead roles are female? No, it would just have to be set in a more appropriate context, but I will leave that up to a female to decide as they probably have a much better perspective.