How To Fight Gender Prejudices In Man Woman Relationship?

Marriage And Beyond

oi-Anwesha Barari

By Anwesha Barari

Friday, August 19, 2011, 17:53

What is a man woman relationship if not plagued by prejudices? Gender prejudices are some standard assumptions about the opposite sex that we hold on to and internalize for future use. Whenever our ego is threatened by a member of the opposite sex, most commonly our spouse or lover we fall back on these gender stereotypes to defend ourselves and thus the struggle continues.

This is not a new phenomenon but a tradition that has been handed down generations to us by our forefathers and mothers. If we analyze wisely, most of the common relationship problems arise from these gender stereotypes that are so strongly ingrained in our character. Here are some of the commonest gender prejudices to avoid in a man woman relationship.

Gender Stereotypes to Avoid in a Man Woman Relationship:

• She cannot earn more than me. And why should it be so? You should be happy if she does, it takes the burden of responsibility of your shoulders. Yes your male ego is threatened by this but she smart. It is how much money is coming in that matters in the end.

• He cannot cook: then teach him to. If the male genes were predisposed to be unresponsive to culinary skills then all the top five star chefs would not be men! Women are possessive about there kitchen but silly girl what good is that possessiveness if it makes you do all the work. Relax for a while and make him do the hard work even if he is clumsy.

• She cannot drive: Ya right! There are woman racing car drivers now. May be she is just scared or nervous or her concepts are not clear. Train her to drive. But whats in it for you? There is a very important benefit you can derive if your girl friend or wife drives well. You are free to get drunk at all the parties and she will drive you home!

• He expects me to make the career sacrifice: not fair but so what. You can exploit him for it. In a man woman relationship, the woman is always expected to make the career sacrifice. Suppose he gets a job abroad, you will be expected to quit yours and follow him. But reverse the situation and he won't! But that alright, why do you want to take his liability. If you really want to teach him a lesson then quit your job and splurge his money to your heart's content. That should teach him a thing or too about being the 'main earning member' of the family.

When you play devil's advocate in a man woman relationship with all its complications and little nuances, its like watching a tennis match between two equally matched opponents. However, jokes apart it is always better to have mature relationships were these kind of prejudices are not expressed.