The other day I was watching an episode of the always comical 1950’s sitcom I Love Lucy, and realized just how different the roles of men and women truly were.
Lucy wasn’t speaking to Ricky because, as always, he wouldn’t let her be in the show. After realizing she hadn’t prepared his breakfast that morning, he stormed into the bedroom and demanded she get up and fix him something to eat like a drill sergeant in the military.
I could only imagine what my wife would have to say if I barked such orders at her early in the morning.
The days of the men being the dominant figure in a household are over for the most part. Today, women have their own careers outside the home – some working just as hard, if not harder, than the men they live with. And while the men of today certainly help out around the house more than the I Love Lucy generation, there’s still a divide between what is and what isn’t a man’s responsibility when it comes to the home.
Some men won’t set foot inside a kitchen, claiming they simply don’t know how to turn on an oven. If there’s one thing men are good at, it’s making excuses why they can’t do something. The way I look at it, men and women are capable of doing just about everything the other can and should take the time to respect each other’s efforts rather than set unrealistic and stereotypical criteria for what one can and cannot do.
The days of wives staying home and serving their husbands like a servant might have been acceptable back in the 50’s during I Love Lucy, but today both men and women are responsible for bringing home the bacon. To still expect the woman to cook, clean, serve and take care of the children while their husband sits on the couch watching television is just plain idiotic.
