"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it's faced." Ever since James Baldwin wrote this, there've been enormous changes in the role of women and gays in our once- puritanical culture. And yet, progress has its backlash...!
Take the role of women. It's been growing as more and more leave the kitchen for the workplace. Now, however, this has ignited an intriguing backlash among some men. No, not the fading umbrage the male once took at the presence of the female in the workplace. It's now more a matter of money than mores. Today a whopping 26% of wives earn more than their husbands in two-income households. Among all married couples, that number hits 34%.
How is the fragile male ego responding...? In some cases, pragmatically. "Hey, whatever it takes to make the monthly rent," say many. Others, tho, have reported: "A funny feeling I'm not in control anymore" One wonders what these two categories of husband share in common. Perhaps the weekend tailgate parties where football is still played exclusively by the male of the species.
Of course there's always the argument that the women prevail here today, because, "No woman is dumb enough to play a sport in which the average career time is 6.5 years, followed by 20 years of arthritis!"
As for the role of the gays, this has not only grown in the world of the arts -- from Broadway to Hollywood -- but everywhere else as well. Take a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in Italy this month. An Italian couple is suing their cruise line for a $4500 refund.They claim they were not advised the ship was Italy's "first all-gay cruise of the Mediterranean." The plaintiffs argue they were the only straight couple among the 1500 guests.
Nowhere in the court proceedings has anyone decided whether the cruise line will continue the practice. Outside the Vatican, the odds right now are 20 to 1 they will.
This is just a guess, but maybe comedian George Burns put it best in describing what makes people happy in a changing culture: "Happiness is having a large, loving, close-knit family in another city!"
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That cruise line sounds pretty damn good to me....!!!!
ReplyDeleteI would hope there would be some "backlash". Says to me there are a few sane people left around.
ReplyDeleteJerry, the last time I think really felt "sane" was back on Thomas Street going to Fenwick each day. Later, things started to get complicated. Exciting, yeah, but complicated. So that's why guys like us have the advantage of a few good memories to count on. Not live on, but at least count on...
ReplyDeleteWomen and Gays is a hilarious piece and has nuggets - These two are priceless:
ReplyDelete"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it's faced." and in particular "Happiness is having a large, loving, close-knit family in another city!" because I've got that kind of happiness. Also, you'd have thought the "straight" couple on the gay cruise would bask in their uniqueness rather than feel dismayed.