Episode 9: Women have it easy?

(When I read Shonali's She Says in response to what I had written, I could see it clearly. Shonali going home making dinner, feeding the pets, sorting the laundry, helping kids with homework, clearing the table, washing dishes, organising the larder, stocking out the fridge and ironing her husband's clothes so the poor man won't be late for work the next day. And this applies even if she's not married huh? Read on to see how easily they play the "Women-make-babies-and-hence-deserve-special treatment" card with ease!)

He says:
Men have to work twice as hard. Women always have it easy.
Maybe that's how they are prone to laziness. A smile and a 'Please' get them places. A frown and a 'Sorry' gets them away with murder.
They always get lifts. They get noticed. Men find it so hard to say No' to them.

It's a rather unfair advantage. The world is turning into an evil uneven playing field where women most often get to call the shots.

Men struggle. They sweat it out, workdays, work nights, work overtime and go unnoticed. When a girl does that once, she makes sure everyone knows she worked. Soon, she's a star and is amply rewarded with a promotion.

Why?

Because, men work hard. It's not surprising to find hardworking men. So, they are taken for granted.
Because, women hardly work. And when they do, it becomes an event.
Because, women press the feminist button only when it suits them.

Otherwise, they expect you to carry their luggage, pay for food, open doors, drop them home, stand in and cover up. They make him type a fortnightly column first six out of eight times when it's rightfully his turn to write the rebuttal.

They so like to have the last word, don't they? They are lazy to the bone. I'm not kidding when I say they get away with murder. Even been in an accident spot? The woman always has the sympathy of the crowd, even when it's her fault. A man in her place would've been roughed up. Why is that guys return empty-handed from a sponsorship pitch no matter how hard they had worked? Why is it that the girl comes back with a cheque by just flashing her pearly whites? Because, gentlemen, it's a woman's world out there. And, they call us male chauvinists for speaking up! Ha!

She says:
It's shocking really. Women have it so easy, it's surprising those pitiable, underfed, over worked men don't revolt.

After all, all a woman has to do when she comes home from the office is to make dinner, feed the pets, sort the laundry, help the kids with homework, clear the table, wash dishes, organise the larder, stock out the fridge and iron her husband's clothes so the poor man won't be late for work the next day. And this happens even if they earn the same salaries.

Because, if you think about it, the opposite sex has done a rather sneaky thing.

Women fought untiringly for the right to work and earn their own money, and eventually, they got to work. But that didn't mean they won.

Because, now women help pay the rent. And they also get stuck with all the traditional 'woman's work,' including exciting things like scrubbing kadais after a day of power talks in high level board rooms. Statistics show that they earn less than men for doing the same jobs. On top of that, many constantly battle the glass ceiling, which prevents them from rising to positions of power in companies.

And then, when a woman has a baby, she either drops out of her professional life or strenuously learns how to juggle her children and career. When a man acquires a child, he opens a bottle of cognac.

As for the new age man? (The one you see in all those 'complete man' ads, dimpling over a baby and getting teary-eyed at pretty sunsets.) Well, he's sniggering into the soap suds everyday, because in exchange for virtuously pressing a couple of buttons on the washing machine to prove he helps out with housework, he's got his self-sufficient wife/ girlfriend to file the taxes, fix the computer and drive him to work in the morning.

So we get an extra scoop of ice cream in our cold coffees when we smile at Baristas. Or some sweet guy lets us cut a line when we're in a hurry. Or one of the three and a half chivalrous men left in the world offers to buy us popcorn in a crowded movie theatre so we don't get pinched black and blue by his 'friendly' compatriots.

Those are the few perks left.

Be nice. Let us enjoy them while they last. Please?