Men, This May Save Your Life Someday

There are ways to get around learning how to tie a tie properly. (In college, I'd find a motherly type at church and beg for help - always made them smile.) But every man should eventually learn how to tie their own tie. This handy-dandy chart is the best illustration I have seen. Save this on your own machine, and keep it around for that formal emergency!

(This is not my own invention. Found it online and am not sure how to get back to where I found it. If it's yours, let me know and I'll give full attribution. In the meantime, it is too valuable NOT to share!)

This one's for Shadowmom

From TheDogHouseDiaries.com.

Only single men buy underwear

There are some facts strange enough to be entirely unforeseen, but also seem obvious once stated. I think a new department store study of men falls into that category.

According to a department store, men buy pants for a mere 17 years of their lives, with the women in their life shopping for male underwear most of the time...

A survey of Debenham shoppers suggested that throughout their childhood and teenage years boys rely on their mothers to pick out their underwear. After a brief period of independence between the ages of 19 and 36 when men chose their own boxers or briefs, they then settle down and hand over the responsibilities to their girlfriends or wives.

Do my married friends find this to be one of the great advantages of wedded bliss? I will admit that it is not one of the aspects that makes me look forward to it for myself.

Do the "Men as Buffoons" ads really sell anything?

I posted a commentary late last year about how sick I am of seeing only ads that portray men as idiots and bad fathers. Inevitably, over and over, advertisers show men as the buffoon of the family, requiring the mother or child to come to his rescue when he partakes in some idiocy of the masculine kind. Every once in a while would not be a problem - we men certainly have our foibles - but it is by far the dominant paradigm in advertising nowadays.

But now, it appears advertisers are finally taking notice. Ad Age has up this article which calls for more positive portrayals of men in advertising.

While the advertising industry's negative depiction of fathers certainly isn't the cause of fatherlessness, it is part of the problem. In a TV culture like ours, the fact that the only fathers one can see on TV are buffoonish (at best) does influence young people's perceptions of fathers.

For young men, it makes it less likely they'll aspire to be fathers, see their own value as fathers or, as Mr. Pitts explains, want to do the "hard but crucial work of being Dad." For young women, it means they'll be more likely to be misled into thinking that their children's fathers aren't important, that divorce or separation from them is no big deal, or that they should, as is the increasing trend, simply dispense with dad altogether and have children on their own.

Here is hoping that this gains some momentum and we see more ads showing men as engaged, competent fathers. It can only help our society remember that fathers are important, and men should strive to be the best men and fathers they can be.

Women Wobble But They Don't Fall Down

What do Weebles and pregnant women have in common? They may wobble, but they don't fall down. It turns out that men and women have a difference in the lower spine and hips that allows women to adjust their center of gravity so they don't fall over when the added weight of pregnancy come. Even though the article credits evolution instead of God, it's still an interesting article.

Are women to blame for the sexism of men?

The Guardian has up an interesting (warning, non-family-friendly topics mentioned) on what they call "Lad Magazines" - the British equivilents of Magnum - and accusations from feminists that they are unacceptably sexist and proof that men have not learned anything from the Feminism. The problem now, the author argues, is not men who are trying to be better, but women who encourage boorish and sexist behavior!

It is hard to see how men can be expected to notice a distinction between professional sex objects and the vast majority of women if we can't tell the difference ourselves.

I can't really post more of the article here, because of non-family-friendly topics, but if you are a parent I encourage you to click over. It argues convincingly that before any more progress is likely to be made on male culture to cut down on demand for girly shows and the like, women need to change their own behaviors which seem to encourage their objectification.

I am not arguing - nor is the author - that men do not need to control themselves and fight against other men who would treat women as objects. But I have to agree with her when she says it is inconsistent to teach your son to respect women, and then let your daughter wear clothes with words like "Too Sexy" and "Booty Call" on them.

Woman-Speak Translations for Men

I am neither married nor currently in a relationship. So, I have no significant woman in my life to check with on this. But somehow, I suspect this post could have saved many relationships. Men and women both speak English here in the USA, but that does not mean they speak the same language.

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

Married bloggers, if it is safe to do so, please educate me on whether these would have been useful in your pre-marriage counselling.

The Power of Women

Posted without further comment. I'll let my married friends educate me on the reality. Expressing an opinion can only exclude me from ever seeing the reality myself.

A study, which was just released, finds that wives have more power than their husbands in making decisions and dominating discussions.

"The study at least suggests that the marriage is a place where women can exert some power," said lead author David Vogel, a psychologist at Iowa State University (ISU). "Whether or not it's because of changing societal roles, we don't know.”