The premise that feminism is bad for men is ridiculous. The premise that feminism is an attack on men is even more ridiculous. The only men threatened by it are men who want to oppress women. Which, as my spouse has very passionately argued, is not a masculinity thing but an oppression thing.
Equality in labor has led to some awesome stuff for men. Like paternity leave.
I find it telling he focuses on the size of muscles in his Rosie analogy (is that even an analogy?). My spouse will go on at length about how wrong it is so much of what it means to be masculine or manly is either violence or violence-by-proxy. Besides, very few jobs depend on high physical strength. Sure, not all women can do the firefighter carry necessary for that job. But fuck ton of men canāt either.
What I taught my daughters was āBrains over Brawnā.
For example, despite being weaker than the average woman I can open any vacuum-sealed jar, and I taught them several methods of how to do so as well. Brute strength only gets you so far; working smart is how you can do more than what any one physical human is capable of.
(Release the air lock with a can opener or a knock on the counter are two examples.)
If brawn were the only reason to value men, why would women want to bother keeping them around? A husband like yours, heās worth a lot more to you than being a jar opener.
The funny thing is, Iām the jar opener! He is has more upper body strength (I think? Weāve never really compared) but I have stronger hands. He finds it amusing every time he hands me a jar to open. Iām also in charge of dealing with any house intruders. Heās non-violent, so we decided in that kind of emergency he is in charge of grabbing the kid, getting out, and calling 911. Iām, um, not non-violent. So Iām in charge of the baseball bat and either defense or delay, berserker rage optional. Not a stereotypical guy, which is part of why I love him so much.
To echo, yes to both those tricks, and I also have a little grippy thing, just a square I cut out of a rubbery roll of shelf liner. Itās great for jars and bottles where the tapping thing wouldnāt work.
Unlike you other smart ladies, I donāt have any kind of bat in my car or near my bed. Now Iām trying to think what would be best.
Totally unrelated, but on topic, Iām re-watching the Netflix show Grace and Frankie and got annoyed when all the ākidsā put the ladies in a retirement community, yet much of what led them there was stuff the guys, I think, wouldāve gotten away with. I mean, the men are never even asked to look after the new grandkid.
But itās also making me think Frankie would be a fun party friend but an absolute nightmare if you needed someone to rely on. I loved her the first time around. Itās a weird rewatching experience.
Frankie was flaky (but fun!) and Grace was too uptight (boss b!tch, though!)
Together, they balanced one another out. (The ep that showed what would have happened had they not become BFFās after their divorces was a hoot.)
I also think maybe the characters were written that way to contrast against their roles in 9 to 5, where Lily Tomlinās character was the smart assertive business woman and Jane Fonda played the innocent, naĆÆve oneā¦
(So happy that they gave Dolly the requisite cameo, even if it was at the very end.)
I went with a youth aluminum bat. Pretty cheap and shorter than full length, so it wonāt be an issue in a hallway. Now that my kid is older, I can probably put out some of the pretty knives I own on display.
@docosc yep. I am the stuff many a fragile man-thing fears. Luckily, my man likes that sort of thing. Or at least doesnāt mind it.
@KathyPartdeux omg, I want a thumper. Or a pretty wooden stick like it. It could hang next to the sign we have near the front door saying āAccorded Neutral Territory.ā Decorative, funny, and useful in a pinch.
I have always viewed my job is to back up Carrie and clean up the mess afterwards. I am bigger and probably look scarier, but appearances can be deceiving.
I keep a barely legal knife in my purse for normal travel. If there happens to be hockey sticks in my car, Iām legit on the way to or from a gameā¦those are totally still weapons.
If youāre going to keep a bat in your car, you should keep an old ball and mitt there too, because you were using the bat for baseball practice (Right? Right?)
