On Husband Bashing

I'm sure we've all noticed the trend in marketing and media that portrays men as buffoons and women as very clever. Comedians have commented on it, and people whined about it extensively. (Brian Regan has told some very humorous jokes about the stupid husband ads, but I can't find it readily. Too bad.)

One thing I've observed as a married lady is the tendency women have to get together and, well, husband-bash. It's usually fairly good natured, so "bash" may not be the best word. Still, as we sit around and gab, we can usually find that our husbands have a lot in common, and they are things that are easy for us to poke fun of. Things like not being organized, not asking for directions, being messy, being totally absorbed in tv/computers/sports/etc. that they don't notice the children making huge messes, making huge messes themselves, not noticing new hairstyles, and the list could go on. Like I said, these tend to be things that men have in common, so when we get together as women it's easy to point out these things that men (as a whole) don't do so well. And then we chuckle to ourselves about how different men and women are.

So, yes, I've been party to these chats, and I've chimed in about how it mystifies me that Eric doesn't do X, Y or Z in the exact way that I would, and doesn't he realize how much easier his life would be if he just obeyed my every order and changed the baby/fed the baby/washed the dishes/drove the car/etc. exactly like I do.

The only thing is, my husband is actually really awesome at a lot of stuff, and I want to shout from the rooftops that Eric has got some skills.

When women complain about how their husbands aren't good at cleaning, I love to chime in that Eric is great at cleaning! He is super helpful and is often the one who proposes that we do some tidying up around the house. He's really effecient, too.

Eric can cook lots of great things. He's a great help around the kitchen, and I love to cook with him.

Eric notices how I look. He has preferences and opinions about how I do my hair and the style of clothes that I wear. I like that he's willing to give his opinion, particularly when I can't make a decision.

He can do pretty much all the baby-caring stuff that I can do. Nursing, of course, is the lone exception. I do not know how women used to take care of their children when the husbands didn't help as much as they do now. In fact, on the rare occasion when our kid wakes up in the middle of the night, Eric is the one to respond to the cry (when I wake him up and tell him to go take care of whatever Ike wants).

Eric is great at saving us money. He asks for discounts on things like car repairs, and he is a team-player when it comes to budgeting and saving money. I do not know what I'd do with a husband who couldn't control his spending.

My husband is social, and I love that. He's usually the one who suggests we should have people over, and he's the main reason we have been making more friends in our neighborhood.

So next time I'm in a husband-bashing conversation, I'm going to think back on this post and mention a few of the things my husband does well.