Quick Hit: Is this Odd?

Posted on by eszenyme

I was looking for conspiracy theories on Disney (don’t judge) and I came across this (unrelated) article….

http://www.momlifetoday.com/2011/03/50-ways-to-inspire-your-husband/

It’s an article on 50 Way to Inspire your Husband…duh.  I’m not going to go off on a complete rant.  I think it’s fine to want to do nice things for people in general or people in specific.  The odd thing about this article is its framing…and the fact that “initiate great sex” takes up 10/50 suggestions. Odd? I think so.

Furthermore, a lot of the suggestions seem stereotypical, no?

For example,

26.  Ban yourself from any nagging, the Great Life-Sucker.

….really?

What do you think?

4 thoughts on “Quick Hit: Is this Odd?”

  1. What bothers me is the idea of the woman having power over her husband’s occupation. If a woman’s husband is going to be president because of her rather than himself, then why shouldn’t she be the one who becomes president? Honestly, that’s what bugs me about this article: that it’s so focussed on traditional family arrangements. Husband goes to work, wife looks after the house and kids. I get that it’s a website for Christian mothers, but they can fall into as many different family arrangements as other mothers.

    I think the repetition of ‘Initiate Great Sex’ is meant as a kind of tongue-in-cheek joke, with a little bit of an attempt at emphasising how sex can help a relationship. I don’t think it’s meant seriously. In another list I might think it was designed to stress that women can and should feel OK with initiating and enjoying sex, which is often seen as the domain of men and something women just put up with for their husbands/partners, but given the general tone I don’t think that’s the case.

    Like

    Reply

  2. I agree with Nicola. Honestly, if a woman has that much power, why shouldn’t she become president? Also, why does the wife have to do that much work anyway? She needs to look after her husband’s needs all the time. Why can’t he offer support to his wife too?

    Regarding the “initiate great sex,” I think it’s more to emphasize how the woman needs to look after the husband and his needs. It seems sex is a great motivator for the husband and so the woman needs to be the one doing the work – as shown by the rest of the list where the woman has to be the one paying attention to her husband. All in all, this list is ridiculous. It is the duty of BOTH spouses to look after EACH OTHER’S needs. There’s a link to another where it shows 50 Ways to Inspire Your Wife that is cute but also seems to focus on the traditional mother role.

    http://www.familylife.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dnJHKLNnFoG&b=3842485&ct=10895217&utm_source=MLT&utm_medium=MLT&utm_content=20WaysPost&utm_campaign=MLT

    There’s one part where it says, “Take care of the kids for a day so that she can have a personal spiritual retreat to recharge.” I would like it more if it said “Take care of the kids and share the time equally so she can also have time to herself.” I just feel there are better ways to phrase these things but then again, this is aimed towards Christians.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yeah, you’re probably right about the sex, especially when you consider that the husbands aren’t told ten times to initiate great sex. I do still hope the number of times it was listed was meant to be facetious, though.

      One thing I found particularly unsettling about that list for husbands is that it says to ‘give’ the wife an evening off a week, like he’s her employer or something. I mean, I get what they’re saying in that in a traditional family set-up women don’t work 9-5, but are busy from when they get up until the kids go to bed, if not later, so it would be nice if the husband comes home from work and cooks, cleans and watches the kids one or two evenings a week. Still, the wording is kind of unsettling, in that it suggests that the husband has a position of power over the wife. I know a lot of Christian couples do believe that, but I don’t like to see it promoted because it opens up for so many abusive situations.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I completely agree. Women are always doing the double shifts: working and taking care of the family. Having the wife do all those thing is a privilege for the husband because it shows she cares enough to do all those things.

        The lists really show just how much power the husbands have in the family. Being Christian and believing that husbands have the power is fine – that’s their own beliefs and if it makes them happy, then what does it matter? But giving the woman that much responsibility and having to remind her family to appreciate her work needles at me a bit. Why not even mention giving out chores equally? It teaches responsibility for the kids and sets a good example for them too. There are so many different ways that these lists can be made … I don’t want to say better, but perhaps feminist-friendly?

        Like

        Reply

Leave a comment