Feminine & Masculine Equality

I was at an event, group of women and 1 man who was there with his partner.
At some point we were outdoors and about to dance around the Maypole with ribbons. One woman was chosen as May Queen and had to hold up the pole. Now it may not have been very heavy, but holding that up for an extended period of time will make it heavy.
So I suggested something like, “We have a man present. Maybe he can be the May King and help out?”
Then I got some serious knee-jerk reactions, mostly from his partner and another woman, possibly her gal pal but not sure.
Something along the vein of that being old-fashioned etc.
I decided to leave it at that moment. We were celebrating, not the right place to start a discussion and make things awkward.

But it did make me think.
In my country we have progressed quite the bit with the equality thing. We’re not 100% there yet, but no country is. Not yet.
In some professions –also simple work like restocking a supermarket- women and girls get paid less still than their male counterparts!
But in general we are doing really well over here.

To then come across these knee-jerk reactions... I felt that was strange.
Thinking about it seems they’re stuck in the phase of ‘I have to prove myself!” while true equality is about NOT having to prove yourself anymore.
When we’re equal it’s about having the freedom to do and choose things that used to be for the other gender only.
Also about getting respect for what you do which is especially important for a woman’s choice as for thousands of years we’ve been taking for granted. There was no acknowledgement, pay-check, respect, status, promotion etc. for being a housewife, mother, partner.
And for a long time we’ve had to fight hard to have the right to do and be the same as our male counterparts. But the peak of that has gone, at least in my country (I’m aware it’s not like that yet in other countries, incl. other first world countries).

So what is true equality about?
No longer having to prove you can do it.
Getting respect for what you choose to do in life.
Having the freedom to do what makes you happy, incl. when it’s something that used to be for the other gender only.
And...
It’s also about acknowledging your own weaknesses! AND being okay with that. Which goes back to nr 1: not having anything to prove anymore. And realise that it's not a weakness.

Generally speaking women aren’t as strong physically as men. Considering what happened last weekend, that part seems to rattle certain people’s cages?
But what is wrong with it? Nothing!
Women and men are created for different purposes. Our female bodies are built to have children, and probably also to be softer and rounder to be more attractive to males which is quite important when it comes to procreation and our species survival.
The difference in our bodies is found in fat and muscle tissues and hormones. All Divinely orchestrated. Our brains produce and/or regulate all that stuff for us.
Conversely, the male body is hard, muscular, not curvy, and to make procreation work women find such males attractive.
*** All generally speaking, there are exceptions, I know!

So... if that makes woman in general less physically strong, what’s the big deal? Why have a problem with that?
It doesn’t make us less and certainly not unequal to men.
Men and women aren’t supposed to be the same. We’re supposed to complement one another.

Personally I see more strength in being able to embrace our differences and being able to acknowledge you’re not physically strong enough for a certain task. It’s something that I feel deserves respect, more so than someone trying to do it anyway even when their body lets them know it’s too much.

If you still feel and act as if you have to prove yourself to show you’re equal and as good you’re not equal. Then you’re stuck in the process of getting to true equality and deep down (re)acting from feeling not good enough/less/not equal.
Then you're stagnant, not equal.

Of course it’s quite the process, both individually as in society as we’re up against changing an entire huge collective field concerning this.

Nevertheless, I was surprised to meet such knee-jerk reactions. For the most part because it means people (still) don’t understand what it’s all about, still get their hackles up, and don’t understand the meaning of equality.
And that’s what I in turn don’t understand, them not understanding.