Equal Rights - Up In Smoke?

Whoever said being equal is a good thing? In the latemen of my generation think their only responsibility is to
60's, 1968 to be exact, women were crying, "EQUALcontribute financially to the household. Most of them
RIGHTS", wanting to be treated equally to men. Why?are totally lost in the kitchen. They are unable to find a
As a woman, I prefer being special rather than equal.bottle of ketchup in the refrigerator if it isn't eye-level.
Now, men expect women to hold the door open forMen born in the 60's have learned to help out at
them. Dates presume women will send them flowers.home...well most of them anyway. There appears to
The only time I get a box of chocolates is when therebe a concerted effort on the part of men of this
is a "two-for-the-price-of-one" sale at our localgeneration to want to share responsibilities. However,
pharmacy...one box for me and one box for mythere is a trade-off. Men expect more from women
husband. It reminds me of the slogan on the back ofsuch as alimony in the case of a divorce. There's a
the box of Cheeze-Its..."Get Your Own Box". By thelaugh for you (unless you're a man).
way, I love Cheeze-Its almost as much as I loveThink about it. I have a friend who is a successful
chocolate.attorney making a six-figure income. Her husband
Well, ladies, you've ruined everything. All of you libbersdecided to quit his job because she made more
out there have put us into a position where we stillmoney than he did. Instead of working, he played golf
aren't getting comparable pay with men, but areand basked in the sun, after a "strenuous" day on the
expected to dig ditches, go to war, slop the hogs, andlinks, enjoying his new life. She divorced him because
bring home the bacon. This is in addition to keeping thehe contributed zip to the marriage. She now has to
house clean, grocery shopping, and preparing healthypay him alimony while he continues to fancy his
meals.recently acquired lifestyle.
It may come as a surprise to many of you, but theSo ladies, the next time you want to burn your bras in
original intent of the women's rights movement beganprotest, expecting to earn equal pay for a job that
as a means to help men deal with the daily stress oftotally stresses you out (if you can find a good paying
being the sole breadwinner in the family. The idea wasjob in today's economy), or deal with raising teenagers
for both spouses to work outside the home and thenby yourself, think twice. Who needs that responsibility?
come home and share household chores andWho wants to be equal to men? As cute and
child-rearing responsibilities. In theory it was a good idea.adorable as some of them may be, women are
Having been born in the early 40's and raised in thedefinitely above standard male issue. It's probably
50's and 60's, women of my generation werebecause of that defective Y chromosome men have.
expected to stay home, raise a family, keep the houseWhy lower yourselves ladies? You did that back in the
clean, and have a well-balanced meal prepared three60's when you burned your double-barreled slingshots.
times a day. I still do that but now I also have to bringCopyright © 2006 by Pamela Beers. All rights
home a paycheck. That would be fine except mostreserved.