She Said
Written by: Brooke Herron Are men and women really equal? This gender debate
has been raging for years, and though women have achieved a semblance of equality, it is still an uneven playing field. Have women been fighting in vain? While we’ve earned respect in the workplace, it seems that we still haven’t received the same level in our personal lives. In many relationships, women are still expected to
maintain a clean household, cook meals and care for chil- dren. Some women love and embrace this role. I don’t take issue with the tasks specifically, but what I don’t like is when it’s automatically expected just because of our gender. Having these responsibilities can be difficult, especially for women also working full-time outside the home.
While
some aspects have changed over time, it seems that many men still wish they could have the quintessential 1950s housewife. It seems to me that men’s roles have stayed the same
while women’s were evolving. And why would men change? They had it great! Making money was their only duty and they were completely taken care of at home! However, in today’s dual income society, it’s necessary in most families for both parties to work and contribute financially – even though women are paid less than men, but that’s another story. Sometimes women are
treated as lesser individu- als for other reasons. We lose men’s respect every time we dress in sleazy clothes and act promiscu- ous. I mean, really, who’s going to take us seriously besides the guy looking for a one-night stand? Women who act in this manner set the entire gender back a step on the road to equality. That said, women in
the United States do have it better
than our female
counterparts in developing nations. I’m thankful that I live in a country where I don’t have to hide under layers of clothing and veils, can get an education, hold a job and choose who I marry. But even so, limits to our personal freedoms still exist, whether or not we choose to acknowledge them, and certain expecta- tions still exist in regard to male-female gender roles. Luckily, there are some great guys out there who truly
believe that their spouse is equal - how it should be in every relationship. I don’t understand why a woman would want to be with a man who treats her like a lesser being – but that’s just me. So, He Said, what do you think? Are women treated equally in our society? And perhaps even more importantly, do men want them to be?
He Said
Written by: Judson White Once again, this is a topic that has gotten me into a lot
of trouble in the past. Every time I touch on this subject, I end up getting yelled at by most of the women in my life. What I don’t understand is why women want to bring up equality only when it benefits them. This is a complicated topic, and each individual situa-
tion offers a different perspective. If you want to talk about house cleaning responsibilities, it’s traditionally the wom- an’s cultural role. However, it can go both ways.
If both
individuals work full-time and get home at the same time, then it should be a shared responsibility – not one person doing all the house work while the other sits on the couch reading or watching television. Obviously, if one partner sleeps until noon while the
other works all day, comes home, cooks dinner, and then cleans up while the other person relaxes, that’s completely unfair.
What about if the man comes home after working all
Gender Equality... is it really Equal?!
day, and then has to spend another five or six hours working on his “Honey Do” list? Is it still his job to wash the dishes? That seems very unequal. If you want to com- plain about cleaning being a wom- an’s job, then please learn how to fix a water heater, repair the roof, and remodel the kitchen and bathroom. Once more of you ladies start strapping on the tool belt and spending hours fixing the house, then I’ll have no prob- lem taking a couple hours to do laundry and cleaning up after the kids. I’ve never been a part of
the corporate world, so I can’t comment on salary inequali- ties. However, the women I know are paid pretty well because they’re damn good at what they do. My two sisters are dentists, and they make way more than this lowly con- tractor. In fact, my company could probably charge a lot more if a couple of beautiful women were performing the work, but alas, my girlfriend
refuses to swing a hammer! I find it amazing that She Said would even pick this
topic, because it’s something we’ve discussed many, many times in past issues. As I’ve said before, if women really want equal treatment, then why are men still be expected to pay for restaurant dinners when most of the time it was the woman’s idea to go out in the first place? Why is it still our job to be the primary breadwinner? The hypocrisy is stag- gering! I’m really starting to get sick of bringing home the bacon and being the last to enjoy it!
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