During these testing times of horrid ALAC ads and pro-lifers, I thought a lighthearted story might hit the spot.
My partner is a staunch pro-feminist, and like many couples we went to ante-natal classes when I was pregnant with our first child. The classes were tedious and dreadful, and towards the end of them the women were of course heavily pregnant and exhausted, and men and women alike were irritable and fed up.
In one of the later classes, the woman who led the sessions asked, 'How do you feel about sex during pregnancy?'. One guy, who had been a relentless smart arse throughout the classes, replied, 'I think it's fine - so long as my wife doesn't catch me!'. It just wasn't the sort of joke you make to a room of tired, grumpy women. The ladies glared, the men groaned, and the guy's wife looked humiliated.
Mr Smart Arse realised he'd spoken out of turn, so he tried quickly to redeem himself. He said righteously, 'Look, we've heard a lot about the support systems available for new mothers - but what is there for men?'.
My partner immediately responded, 'Thousands of years of patriarchy?'.
It was his finest hour!
8 comments:
LOL Great story! You know he did have a point (a tiny one) In my previous working life I actually came a cross a man who had post natal depression. It was quite sad. Of course the wife had to deal with that, her new baby and her own health...
Haha, good on him for being right and being quick, and I'm really happy for you that you have a partner who understands why you're a feminist and supports you. :)
I've been caught saying before that the real test for men being (pro-)feminists is whether we can stand up to other men on the little things, particularly if there are no women around for support. Looks like your partner pretty much passes. ;)
I agree Ari! That is a fair point AAML - the sleep deprivation and stress that a difficult new baby can cause can certainly be shared by both partners.
yay Anna (and partner)!I'm loving reading your writing.
I have so been hanging out for a similar opening since you told me that story, but sadly I don't seem to encounter as many sexist arses as you *pout*
I do seem to run into more than my share of sexist arses. A guy once told me that I'm 'very intelligent for a woman'. All I could do was laugh, really.
My partner has told me that too - that I'm "very intelligent for a woman". And unfortunately I have no comeback because he's got an IQ of 170 or something and I don't.
Just as annoying as the 'you're very intelligent for a woman' is the 'you're quite funny for a woman'. Somehow it's a given that women have no sense of humour. Even the non-feminist ones apparently - and here I was worrying that it was my feminism that eroded my comic stylings.
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