Husbands should always help their wives; and not just when asked to do so
Today's topic is as old as the world, which is the classic battle of the sexes and their relative roles within a relationship.
Even years after the beginning of the third millennium, discussions about who should do what inside and outside the home continue as if history can never teach anyone anything.
Punctually, the same scenario repeats itself, where we see the husband who after dinner starts watching TV while his wife has to continue to clear the table and square away the kitchen as if her day had just begun.
via Constance Hall / facebook.com
The usual excuse used by so many men is that of feeling fatigued after a very long work day as if to insinuate that wives at home are having fun cleaning the house, looking after their children, and taking care of many other commitments.
Someone who has thrown even more fuel on the fire is the Australian blogger Constance Hall, who has a large following on social media with over a million followers. To those men who have commented angrily, arguing that men do not have the gift of telepathy and that when help is needed, just ask, Constance, replied with her usual sharp irony.
In fact, what she did was to write a series of precise and detailed "lists" as if they were addressed to robots, using language and instructions that are easy and understandable for everyone concerned.
Of course, her aim was to stir up debate and to underline how such a response was on the edge of the absurd. As a matter of fact, even the busiest husband lives in the same domestic habitat as his partner, so he already knows what to do and when to do it. Using the alibi of "just ask" is too convenient and verges on deliberate teasing.
Consequently, a present and thoughtful partner does not need notes or lists to do the usual, unavoidable household chores, or much less always wait to be asked before taking the initiative on his own.
Constance speaks implicitly for all wives and homemakers when she says that a woman is not meant to be a maid, and a couple must work together on everything. The burden of household duties must be carried out in two, and teamwork is needed, otherwise, nothing will ever get done.
There may be days when between the wife and husband, there is one who is more tired than the other, and it is precisely in these circumstances that we need collaboration and mutual understanding.
The world will not end if every now and then "he" gets up and starts washing the dishes without "her" having to tell him anything.
