Chivalry, Hipocracy and Women's Equality

I've admitted this before: I am a terrible hypocrite. And since I'm being all confessional, there are certain things that will totally fire me up every time and Jeremy thinks it's hilarious to push those buttons. Take for example women's rights or women's equality - whatever term floats your boat.

It started when Jeremy told me about a care tag on a pair of jeans that got a bunch of people very upset because it read something to the effect of "get your woman to wash it, that's her job". I don't know, I didn't take time to Google it, so I am just regurgitating Jeremy info. Laundry is a touchy subject in Lacowland and I use it to show my anger at Jeremy or to retaliate in some way. When I'm upset I don't touch his laundry and I give him absolutely no warning. It's a little below the belt, I know. That's how hard core I am. Anyway, Jeremy and I were having this discussion at the coffee shop while Natalia was supposed to be concentrating on her homework. Since the conversation got a bit heated, of course she was all ears.

Jeremy had a good point that if there was a similar tag on a lawn mower, let's say the manual, then I would totally think it's funny. Blah, blah, blah... how to operate the lawnmower... or just have your husband do it. I refuse to mow the lawn because ours isn't self propelled. Natalia wanted to know what the discussion was about by using her favorite term "I don't get it." I tried to explain to her in G rated terms that some people think women are supposed to do housework while the man goes out and earns a living. I also explained that now it seems women are expected to keep and manage the home all while working full time and keep the kids organized, bathed, groomed, vaccinated, and checked up. Jeremy gave me a bit of the stink eye because when it comes down to it, he is really involved and helps out a lot. Besides, there are some chores that I refuse to do and he has to pick up that slack. Seriously, if I wasn't married, I would hire someone to do the Jeremy chores.

Nothing drives me more crazy than anyone suggesting that women are inferior to men because we have ovaries and boobies. I also abhor the stereotypes of what women should be, or what a woman who thinks she should be equal should be. Here's the hypocrisy part:

While yes I can open a door for myself, I shouldn't when I am with a man. That's right. He should do it every time for a lady. Physically men have more muscle tissue because they carry more testosterone, so they should also do the heavy lifting. Even Plato agrees with me here. I think men should be the dashing hero who believes the lady is amazing and can accomplish anything she wants. Jeremy is pretty amazing in that respect. I also can't stand it when women try to macho it up to prove a point. Yes we can do all the things a man can do, but we are not men and I don't think I should have to masculinate myself to be treated equal. That's why the blond in the show "The Walking Dead" drives me crazy. Now if I can get some help relaying that in seven year old terms please.

Since this is one of my hot buttons, I have to take extra care in how I explain it to Natalia. My first instinct is to go a little "man hater" with it and tell her that men will try and bring her down, so be ready for a fight. I'm pretty sure that isn't sound parenting and that it's "baggage" based. You know who is better at the women's equality speech for Natalia? Jeremy of course. Evidently they have had this discussion before because with a little prompting from him, she was able to recite some wonderful "girls are just as good as boys" tidbits.

What I want her to know is that she should embrace being a girl and not ever let anyone tell her that she is less-than because of it. She and I are genetically hard wired to love dressing up, make up, glitter, drama, and being emotional and sensitive. I realize there are girls who are hard core and more "boy-ish", but that does not make them anymore superior. I don't ever want her to think that she is weaker than her male counterpart simply because she has XX for chromosomes. It's as ridiculous as the thought that my IQ is lower because I'm a natural blond.

It's good to know that while this is a touchy subject for me, which Jeremy loves to pick on, he is also working on building Natalia up as a girl. I swear I could do this parenting thing alone, but she would really be missing out on the male perspective and therefore be imbalanced. I'm obviously imbalanced, but what do you expect growing up with a single mom who made some pretty poor choices in men. They were not Jeremys, or heroes. I'm so thankful to God every day that Natalia has a strong daddy in her life to help shape her into a strong woman. As said by the wise and insightful musical group "The Spice Girls", girl power - zig a zig ah.