“Why does a woman work ten years to change a man, then complain he’s not the man she married?”
― Barbra Streisand
I love that quote and the unmistakable message is that modern women are largely responsible for the Metrosexual phenomenon. The ideal of American manhood used to be this:
Now it’s this:
I recently read an interesting, borderline scandalous explanation for the wild popularity of “50 Shades of Grey.” The theory is that despite emancipation, the female is genetically wired to be subservient, and we find our outlet through romance novels featuring alpha males. Yet in real life we’re soccer moms and dodge ball deniers, sucking the masculinity out of our very own sons while secretly salivating over The Few, The Proud, The Marines.
This rant is inspired by a blog with the subheading, “When Did Mowing the Lawn Become A Bridge Too Far?” It’s a fascinating and sobering read, check out the first few lines:
I read the subject line for the latest message on my neighborhood listserv with interest: “Kids Cutting Grass?”
A few years ago I’d used a post with a similar headline to find someone to do some yard work. My husband and I hired a neighborhood kid whose Dad had died the year prior after a long illness. Maybe 13 years old, he’d taken to doing yard work to raise much-needed money and have something to do.
But this email was very different. It read:
“We just had a group of adorable and entrepreneurial kids (young, maybe 9-11 years old) offer to mow our grass. Not to be Scrooges in the neighborhood, but what is the general consensus on this around [the neighborhood] re: safety? They looked pretty young, and we didn’t see a parent with them supervising. I realize kids want to earn spending money, but I was interested in getting the pulse on this sort of thing. Teenagers, maybe. But these kids looked like they may be older elementary school aged (guess). We had a family member lose a couple of toes mowing while a young kid, so maybe I’m just overly sensitive.”
The next email read, “For anyone whose interested, the [American Academy of Pediatrics] recommends that children be at least 12 years old before operating a push mower and 16 for a ride-on mower, along with a list of safety precautions. Just FYI.”
A link was provided to a page on the AAP web site headlined “Mowing the Lawn Can Be a Dangerous Chore.” Injury prevention tips there include: “Have anyone who uses a mower or is in the vicinity wear polycarbonate protective eyewear at all times.”
Eva Douglas Blog 