- #1
Gabrielle
- 9
- 0
Are men wired differently than women?
Let me count the ways.
This became more evident when my father was working on one of his handyman projects. My father can make things out of leftover pieces of wood from other projects. He's skilled in the art of recycling things around the house and always manages to find a use for something that was previously used for something else. Often he doesn't even have to leave the dooryard when he's inspired to start one of his "works in progress." It's almost uncanny.
On Saturday, I was out in the shed and was looking over his latest project. He had been organizing his tools and just generally tidying up the shed. At one time, there was a barn but it was torn down many years ago. The sills were rotting and my father didn't want to put the money into it at the time. The more valuable items were sold to an antique dealer, some other things to a junk dealer, quite a few things were thrown out or hauled away. Everything left was consolidated and stored in the shed and attached workshop. He has since built two storage buildings (one for his lawn tractor).
Well, I was out in the shed and I marvelled at the screwdrivers lined up along the wall. My father had made something out of leftover remnants of wood and had drilled holes to put the screwdrivers in (all 44 of them). Yes, there were so many, I just had to count them. I even took the time to measure the holders. One piece was 36 inches long and the other one was 28 inches long. The screwdrivers looked like soldiers all lined up in a neat row. I went in the house and asked my father how he had managed to accumulate so many screwdrivers. He said "Actually, that's not all of them. There are more--8 or 10 or so in a a plastic container." I went out and there were actually 13 which makes a total of 57 screwdrivers. Some of them had already been in the house when they first bought it back in 1962.
The point I'm trying to make is, do you see many women with 57 screwdrivers in their possession? I'm not trying to suggest that there aren't exceptions. Perhaps women don't have time to learn how to do the handy-dandy work that a lot of men do because they're too busy cooking, cleaning, taking care of children and working full-time on top of that.
Many men today share the responsibilities of housework, cooking and child care with their mate or spouse. But there are still a few stragglers from the "old school" that still think, "That's women's work." Back in the 60's, there were still a lot of women that weren't in the workplace and my mother was one of them. She worked very hard taking care of us, the house and making sure all the bills were paid. She managed money very well.
Maybe if the tables were turned and women picked up a hammer and nails, men would be forced to do some of the work that women have always been expected to do for thousands of years. I think it's true that women are better at some of the more domestic chores than men, or did this just come about because of all the centuries of conditioning? Sometimes I think that men are just as capable but they're just not quite as fussy as women about some things. Do you think men care if there's a little wrinkle in the kitchen curtains before they're hung up to the windows? Do they care if the Hummel in the china closet is gently washed and polished to a brilliant shine so that you can see your face in it? Anyway, you get my drift. I think some women prefer to do some things themselves because they are more particular about how some things are done. Other women aren't quite as fussy.
I've always thought that men were better at fixing things than women. Again, is this just conditioning? I'm sure there are women who are equally skilled in mechanics or other jobs that are generally thought of as men's work.
Something else I was thinking about - husbands and wives may share domestic duties and yardwork while they're still employed. Do men feel that their wives or mates should do the bulk of the housework once they're retired? Do they suddenly think that because their wife is no longer in the workplace, she now has all this time on her hands to do all the housework? In the last four decades, as many women as men have been out in the workplace. Men were then prompted to share the duties around the house, as it should be. Do you think that some men revert to their "old way" of thinking after they retire thinking that this "arrangement" is no longer necessary?
Anyway, I'm going in all different directions with this, so I'll let everyone take it from here.
Let me count the ways.
This became more evident when my father was working on one of his handyman projects. My father can make things out of leftover pieces of wood from other projects. He's skilled in the art of recycling things around the house and always manages to find a use for something that was previously used for something else. Often he doesn't even have to leave the dooryard when he's inspired to start one of his "works in progress." It's almost uncanny.
On Saturday, I was out in the shed and was looking over his latest project. He had been organizing his tools and just generally tidying up the shed. At one time, there was a barn but it was torn down many years ago. The sills were rotting and my father didn't want to put the money into it at the time. The more valuable items were sold to an antique dealer, some other things to a junk dealer, quite a few things were thrown out or hauled away. Everything left was consolidated and stored in the shed and attached workshop. He has since built two storage buildings (one for his lawn tractor).
Well, I was out in the shed and I marvelled at the screwdrivers lined up along the wall. My father had made something out of leftover remnants of wood and had drilled holes to put the screwdrivers in (all 44 of them). Yes, there were so many, I just had to count them. I even took the time to measure the holders. One piece was 36 inches long and the other one was 28 inches long. The screwdrivers looked like soldiers all lined up in a neat row. I went in the house and asked my father how he had managed to accumulate so many screwdrivers. He said "Actually, that's not all of them. There are more--8 or 10 or so in a a plastic container." I went out and there were actually 13 which makes a total of 57 screwdrivers. Some of them had already been in the house when they first bought it back in 1962.
The point I'm trying to make is, do you see many women with 57 screwdrivers in their possession? I'm not trying to suggest that there aren't exceptions. Perhaps women don't have time to learn how to do the handy-dandy work that a lot of men do because they're too busy cooking, cleaning, taking care of children and working full-time on top of that.
Many men today share the responsibilities of housework, cooking and child care with their mate or spouse. But there are still a few stragglers from the "old school" that still think, "That's women's work." Back in the 60's, there were still a lot of women that weren't in the workplace and my mother was one of them. She worked very hard taking care of us, the house and making sure all the bills were paid. She managed money very well.
Maybe if the tables were turned and women picked up a hammer and nails, men would be forced to do some of the work that women have always been expected to do for thousands of years. I think it's true that women are better at some of the more domestic chores than men, or did this just come about because of all the centuries of conditioning? Sometimes I think that men are just as capable but they're just not quite as fussy as women about some things. Do you think men care if there's a little wrinkle in the kitchen curtains before they're hung up to the windows? Do they care if the Hummel in the china closet is gently washed and polished to a brilliant shine so that you can see your face in it? Anyway, you get my drift. I think some women prefer to do some things themselves because they are more particular about how some things are done. Other women aren't quite as fussy.
I've always thought that men were better at fixing things than women. Again, is this just conditioning? I'm sure there are women who are equally skilled in mechanics or other jobs that are generally thought of as men's work.
Something else I was thinking about - husbands and wives may share domestic duties and yardwork while they're still employed. Do men feel that their wives or mates should do the bulk of the housework once they're retired? Do they suddenly think that because their wife is no longer in the workplace, she now has all this time on her hands to do all the housework? In the last four decades, as many women as men have been out in the workplace. Men were then prompted to share the duties around the house, as it should be. Do you think that some men revert to their "old way" of thinking after they retire thinking that this "arrangement" is no longer necessary?
Anyway, I'm going in all different directions with this, so I'll let everyone take it from here.
