"If I Were a Boy"

With Valentine's Day upon us, there has been some talk about plans and everything, and I am personally going home to see my boyfriend. Yet, my mother is not the "sit back and watch" type, she likes to know what is going on in my life, so of course I had to tell her. I got all of these "talks" and tips and everything that I started to wonder what it would be like if I were a boy. Would she go any easier on me? Would I be allowed to do more of what I wanted? (She disregards that legally, I am an adult) My godbrother is a freshman in high school and he has had this girl calling the house frequently and my mom told me about and said we would have to talk to him when I came home. I asked her what she wanted me to say and she said "Oh I don't know, I was just teasing him." Trust me, if I had someone calling the house that much or if I went to the movies with them while my mom was under the impression that I was with only friends (yes, my godbrother did that), then my mother wouldn't be "just teasing" me. With me, it would be in all seriousness that she would explain to me the consequences of sex and all that jazz, but she's just teasing him!!! On one occasion, her fiance even confessed to me that if he had a child, he would want a boy. This was after I had gotten in trouble concerning a boy, and he was trying to give me his "two cents." He said he wanted a boy because I guess he wouldn't have to worry about him being protected or taking care of himself or something along those lines. It really annoyed me because I have never personally been in the situation or even close to being taken advantage of, I actually fight pretty well if I may say so myself. It annoyed me that he assumed strength came packaged in the male gender, as if it had to do with genes or something. I do believe that men are naturally stronger than women but this doesn't mean that we are unable to protect and provide for ourselves, which he didn't and still doesn't seem to get. For instance, I saw on a TV show where a girl said she was going to give a boy the "3 day rule" for him to call her, and it made me wonder, why are the boys supposed to call? It gives the girl a bad reputation if she is calling or visiting all of the time, but to me it shouldn't matter - you should be able to call when you want to, regardless of gender. Gender stereotypes are truly mysterious.