Friday, May 02, 2008

A Friday Rant

I'm growing more and more weary of gender stereotypes... and all the media and advertising that perpetuates it further.

While I don't expect that every person on the planet should WANT to eat healthier, I hate when commercials insinuate that men should want the greasy, cholesterol-laden, heart attack on a plate at every fast food or sit-down restaurant. A manly man doesn't eat salads. Well, why the hell not? If he wants a salad, let him eat a salad. If he wants a chicken sandwich, let him eat a chicken sandwich. If he turns down a triple cheeseburger with bacon and extra cheese sauce, that doesn't make him any less of a man.

On the same note, just because I'm a woman, please don't tell me that I prefer quilting and sewing floral fabrics into frilly little frocks over watching a football or hockey game. AND... I want people around me to be quiet during an intense play... I'm not a "silly old hen" who talks and talks and talks, distracting my husband during the game.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with women who quilt or sew... or who don't like or appreciate sports. Not at all!!! I'm just not that person, and I don't want to be stereotyped as such just because of my gender. And I don't want my husband to be stereotyped as "whipped" or whatever, just because he has learned the art of compromise. He doesn't have to be a caveman to be a man... and I love him all the more for that.

Do we need to realize there are differences between the sexes? Yes. In order to understand the human condition, I think it's very important. But do we need to pigeon-hole EVERYONE and assume that's just the way it is? NO.

Maybe I'm just lucky that I am married to someone who is willing to compromise. We both have our separate interests-- and that's good!-- but I don't think that either one of us would ever sacrifice the importance of our marriage and togetherness simply because he's a MAN, DAMMIT!, and I'm some simp of a woman.

8 comments:

Jen's Farmily said...

Did this rant come from a fast food commercial? Or was it just bubbling and finally made it's way to the surface?

lizgwiz said...

And here I was all set to invite you to a quilting bee. My bad.

Hee.

don't call me MA'AM said...

jen: commercials, an article (that I'm not going to link) about mancaves... which are fine... but the article was written with a slant. It doesn't take much to set me off. Obviously. ;-)

liz: actually, even though I don't quilt, I love them! So invite me, and I'll watch in awe. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I concur!

stinkypaw said...

Totally agree! Vive la différence!

wire said...

Ok, you are definitely speaking my language! I can't stand those dime-a-dozen ads for baby products with the bumbling simpleton dad who can't so much as change a dirty nappy without everything going horribly wrong. But don't worry, dad invariably gets "rescued" by good old mum who shares a wink and a knowing smile with giggling baby before cleaning up whatever catastrophe silly old dad has gotten himself into this time.

Because we all know men are well meaning but horrifically incompetent parents who struggle to find a brain cell between the lot of them, right?

don't call me MA'AM said...

-r-: I love that word, "concur." I say that just to confuse people with poor vocabulary. hahahaha

stinkypaw: Ole! I mean, Magnifique! ;-)

wire: ABSOLUTELY! That formula does get old. Also... I hate shows about schools or kids where all the teachers are either bumbling idiots, or evil spinsters, or heartless power-tripping egomaniacs. Yeah.

Marmite Breath said...

There's a billboard on Hwy 71 on the way to Arkansas, and it makes me a little crazy. Seriously, I talk about it all the time. It's for a quilting shop, and it actually (for real) says, "Scream until your husband stops the car!"

I cannot even tell you how irritated it makes me. Sometimes, at dinnertime, I'll just pipe up (in a very annoying Southern accent), "Stop the car, honey, I need me some quiltin' fabrics!" and Aaron retorts, "Quit your whinin', you quilt makin' hussy!" and we all chortle, but really it makes me want to bash the billboard designer in the head because, hello? Sexism? and Ridiculousism? (I made that up)

(The Marmite Breath Family does not really Chortle either, we're more of a Guffaw family)

(Or Titter, if we're feeling reserved)