It's 2013 People!
Women CAN be Wives, Good Cooks AND Business Tycoons!
Seriously! When did
being a good cook and a wife mean that you can't be anything more? Someone forgot to tell me this. I would suggest that many women that have
very successful careers were also not told that these conditions were in
place. I have dug out my manual, which
was created when I was born, and I can't find this anywhere. Maybe there was an update that my parents
forgot to insert.
But seriously, this really isn't a laughing matter. As a married woman, who can cook and likes to
cook, I am also someone who takes my career seriously. I believe that I, along with all women, can be
more than what one label suggests. I
didn't think that this was something that we had to discuss and debate in 2013,
but I guess it is. This morning a hot
topic on both the local and even national news was the fact that a politician,
while at an event last weekend, made a comment after tasting some food prepared
by a young lady stating: 'you will make
someone a good wife someday'. Nowhere did
I hear him say that she would be chained up and forced to stay at home and that
she could not go to school to become whatever she desired. No, of course not!
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| Who forget to tell Marissa Mayer that she is a wife, so she can't lead Google? Photo courtesy of sfgate.com |
In the spirit of openness and transparency I must declare
that I not only know this politician, but I also like and respect him. I also admit that my gut reaction to hearing
this story was: COME ON! Serioulsy!..Seriously..this is news? So, I did question my reaction to ensure that
it was not biased by the fact that I know him.
After soul searching and self-questioning, I went back to my gut
reaction: this is ridiculous. And, I will state that I would be the first to
cry foul if this was a true case of dismissing women's rights! I am still miffed to think that women in New Brunswick are not
protected by law in terms of getting equal pay. (See my blog post: Women,
Persons Under the Law)
Just exactly when did things get so carried away that
someone can't make a statement about being a wife without people thinking or
believing that is all a woman can be? After
all, this is 2013 AND we live in what is supposed to be a progressive part of
the world.
I know that women can be good cooks, wives, mothers,
gardeners, etc. and be very successful in their careers. Some such women that come to mind include:
Marissa Mayer, Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright, Margaret Thatcher, and
closer to home, Dominique Dionne of Xstrata Nickel, and Lisa Lisson of FedEx
Express Canada to name a few. Mind you I have not tasted any of these ladies
cooking, but you get the picture and that really is NOT the point.
Rather than jump on "this" bandwagon, let's rally
around real issues like: pay equity, ending the culture of rap, and the
labeling women. As women, let's not let
others label us and limit us. Let's not
join 'that' conversation.
These are my opinions and I would love to hear yours.
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