You Say That Like it's a Bad Thing.

It has been brought to my attention that I am opinionated and full of myself. Really?
Also I have been told that I am an obstinate feminist. Really?
And once, someone told me I avoid arguments. Really?

The three statements have two things in common:
A) They were made by men of a certain age.
B) They were made to sound as if they were bad things.

What these gentlemen fail to understand is that these are things I like about myself. I have no interest in changing them.
I am opinionated, I have opinions and I express them.
I am full of myself, who else should I be full of?
I am most decidedly an obstinate feminist and I will wear that on a T-shirt if needed.
I do avoid arguments because I often fail to see the point of them - but I think that statement is made all the more funny in light of the other two.

Sometimes, men of a certain age have grown so accustomed to having things their way, that when somebody (read: younger woman) comes along who doesn't give them the proper amount of adoration, they simply don't know what to do. Except feel the need to express their displeasure.
However, I don't see them saying the same thing to men my age. Men my age, who have the same problems with authority as I have, are generally described as assertive and passionate.
An exercise I often entertain, when I feel that a particular approach seems patronizing, is that I simply consider what the effect would be if this were said to a man. And true enough, most of the time the result is that those words would not be used.
More importantly, I usually know I am doing something right once the old geezers start belly aching.