It's Hard Work Being a Girl

My buddy, Suze, has done a mid-career shift and gone back to school for a degree in education. As part of the program, she has been observing classes in city schools and helping out in the classroom. She's full of good stories. Yesterday, she called after I came home from teaching and gave me about the latest installment in the saga.

In a high school English class, the teacher gave the kids the 5 paragraph essay lesson. To get them going, he assigned the topic "It is Better to Be ...", pick a gender, and explain why. The students were mostly Latinos from poor to working class backgrounds.

All the boys said that it was better to be a man. That's probably not surprising. But all the girls also said that it was better to be a man. The consensus was that men have less responsibilities, they don't have to clean the house or do the dishes, and they can hang out with their friends. The girls also said that they had to spend more time on their hair and their clothes.

Comments

[MH]

Hey, we die sooner and all of that no household responsibilities stuff seem to me to be a thing of the past (at least once you ascend a bit in the class structure).

On the plus side, we can let our eyebrows go all Gandalf without thinking we need to do anything about it and we have more options for writing our name in the snow.

[dave.s.]

I got the below as an office email and thought it needed to be posted here!!!

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED

Men Are Just Happier People—But what do you expect ?
Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is
just another snack. You can be President. You can
never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a
water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car
mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your
urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station
restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't
have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a
bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never
stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New
shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One
mood all the time!

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You
know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires
only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You
get extra credit for the slightest act of
thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he
or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs
of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have
strap problems in public. You are unable to see
wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face
stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for
years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face
and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and
one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You
can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can
"do" your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom
of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on
December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

[jeff nixon]

that was pretty stupid