Bette Davis says, “When a man speaks his mind, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch." There are many stereotypes when it comes to women. Women should be behind the superior male. Women should be ladylike and kind. The crazy thing is that when a woman breaks out of that typical stereotype; it is considered wrong and unjust. Men have stereotypes too. They are meant to be macho and have the upper hand. They have to smell and act like the kids in the Old Spice commercials. But as it turns out, we all have a certain role to take care of. According to Michael Kimmel, “gender refers to cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity – the meanings of masculinity or femininity” (Kimmel, 2014). This is society's way of distinguishing between what men and women should be. According to thefreedictionary.com, “the overt expression of attitudes that indicate to others the degree of your masculinity or femininity” (Thefreedictionary.com, 2014). The main point here is that society tells and guides people how to act and how to be a man or a woman. For this article I will break away from the stereotype of how a woman should behave in public. To begin with, I decided to invite my mother, Gwen, and my girlfriend, Nikki, to a public dinner. I took them to an Italian restaurant and decided to push my luck by going outside of gender norms. My mother is what you call an “original” woman. She usually wears makeup, wears heels, and is known for never raising her voice above a soprano octave. My girlfriend is your typical butch girl. She wears men's clothes and acts like a man. My first step was not to show up at the dinner as a woman. I went to the dinner wearing a boy's suit... middle of paper... ready to accept whoever you are, but in this case it was different. My girlfriend was embarrassed by my actions and that alone made me feel horrible. Both of their reactions proved my point about gender norms. The point is that gender norms can hurt people who don't want to fit into what society wants them to be. I believe gender norms are unnecessary. They carry heavy burdens that people must follow. We should not succumb to what people believe we are. Gender norms should be destroyed because they have a negative influence on generations to come. Works Cited Kimmel, Michael. "Introduction". The reader of gender society. Ed. Kimmel, Michael and Aronson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 3. Print. “Gender norm”. The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Thefreedictioanry.com. Web 25 Feb. 2014.