What it is still like being a woman

Do you know any sexist pigs? I do. I'm related to a few. It drives me nuts.

If God had intended me to stay home my whole life cooking, cleaning, and being a sex kitten for my husband, he would not have given me the brains I possess. I'm not saying that staying home is easy, it takes a special breed to stay home all day. But why does it HAVE to be the woman?

Yes, I am an excellent cook. I suck at cleaning. I'm not saying my house is a mess, but I just do not possess the gift that my husband has to enjoy cleaning. It relaxes him. He is weird, but I love him.

I know many people who think that women should be at home. Ok, I agree. Children do better when they have a parent's care. But, I ask, what about when the child is 18 and strikes out on his or her own? What is the woman to do with her life then?

If she stays home, she is labeled as a "kept" woman even though her job has been domestic all this time. No matter how much work she does around the house, people will still say she is "kept". Now, I'm sorry, but it is not the woman's fault that our society puts such low value on the job we do.

I am not a man hater by any means. I appreciate the work my husband does. However, where did the idea come from that the work we do as women is any less valuable than the work men do outside the home? Yes, men "bring home the bacon", but who cooks it? Who cleans it? Who is up with the sick child all night who ate too much of this bacon?

Some men "help out". And it is appreciated, but even though my husband and I decided before we had a child that things were going to be even, they aren't. If he takes care of our child for any amount of time so I can do homework or go out to dinner with a friend, he acts as if he is doing me a favor. This is how it has been since our son was born. It is not my husband's fault. He has been raised by SOCIETY to believe that it is the woman's job to take care of the children.

Children who are involved with both parents fare better. This is common sense. Yes, a child needs his or her mother, but trust me, they need a father, too.

When I was 16 or so my dad took me out on a date, just the two of us. I had been promised this for a while, but since I didn't live with him most of my life it was hard to set up. We went to St. Louis Bread Co. and to Dairy Queen and drove around St. Louis. I remember it in detail because it was great. I felt special, but I felt cheated because at 16 this was my first time doing this!

My dad would take the boys hunting and fishing and just out and about. Me, I went shoppping with my stepmom, which was great, but not spending time with my dad. If I did go somewhere with dad, my brother was always there. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but it is important for children to develop relationships with their parents.

So, I have set the goal that my son will be raised knowing that a household is the responsibility of both parents. The relationship between a man and a woman is to be complimentary. One is not above the other.

Eve was formed not from Adam's foot because she is not below him and not from his head because she is not above him. Eve was formed from Adam's rib because she is to be beside him, a helpmeet.

Helpmeet does not mean "helper" in the way we think, either. It is more positive, leaning more towards an equal, complimentary force for surviving.