I have written about facebook status updates a few times on here. I am finding that, more and more often, they serve to uphold traditional gender roles. Last week I posted about how mothers are supposed to "sacrifice everything" for their families... This week, I saw a married woman on my facebook friends list post this onto her status.
If you have a wonderful husband, fiancé, or boyfriend that works hard to take care of you and would do anything just for you and your family, then repost this as your status to give the honest, well behaved men out there the recognition that they deserve. Because great men are few and far between, and I have one of them! ♥
The first thing I asked myself is what exactly is meant by "take care of." In this context, I don't believe they are referring to cooking dinner or housekeeping- I believe that they are referring to his ability to financially provide for his family.
A man would do anything for his family, but a woman must sacrifice everything for her family... doesn't seem like a big difference at first, but I see a lot of meaning in these differences, even just in the sense that men are actively doing whereas women are passively sacrificing.
I also find it insulting to men, stating that there are not many great men out there, and even mentioning that good men should be "well-behaved." Sounds like words that we would usually use with children.
I am so over these copy/pasted facebook status updates... I have seen a few good ones, such as one a year ago urging women not to use the f-word (fat- not the other f-word), but, for the most part, I find them offensive and I am often surprised to see who has posted them.
This reminds me of those commercials that show the dumb man who doesn't know how to cook and set fire to the house (which I know a female who has done this on at least two separate occasions) or can't figure out how to use the super complicated one button/one dial washing machine.
ReplyDeleteAs for the facebook status updates, there is always going to be something new every week that is pointless and no one will care about in a months time. I'm going to change my status to...Post this if you know someone who is breathing today. Congratulate them on a job well done.
I just saw this one now too
ReplyDelete"I am a cook, a housekeeper, a parent, a teacher, a referee, a nanny, a nurse, a handy man, a maid, security, and a comforter. I don't get holiday, sick pay, or a day off, I work through the day and some of the night, I am under paid and over worked now tell me that YOUR job is harder then mine. Repost this if you're a mommy."
It is entirely true, if you ask me, but sad that these jobs are associated with mom and not dad... I would love to see the day where it would make sense to simply say "repost this if you're a PARENT"
Thanks Sweet pandemonium... I did not set fire to the house, I merely caught a pot of water on fire and charred the kids' artwork that was on the fridge next to the stove...
ReplyDeleteI agree completely about those commercials. Watching men mess up the simplest chores was funny on "Home Improvement" when I was 12, but now I realize the type of gendered stereotypes it left me with in my own relationships, and I don't think I'm the only one. Oddly enough, men are the highest paid chefs, so they can cook, just not for their families.