Fox Segment for Context ..........
The Commodification of Men
I would like to propose a thought experiment to anyone offended by Patton’s remarks. Try switching out “men” for “women” in the above remarks, and see if anything she said would be considered controversial by absolutely anyone. Would anyone at all have criticized anyone for making the following statements on television?
Not a single one of these statements would elicit even a raised eyebrow from anyone on either side of the political spectrum. Yet, the suggestion that women should accord reciprocal respect to men in a marriage is apparently call for near-universal outrage from everyone. The reason for this is simple – the societal expectation pendulum has swung so far that women are allowed and even expected to demand being treated like a princess by their husbands. Husbands, on the other hand, are not permitted to ask or expect anything from their wives in reciprocity at the risk of being called a neanderthal. The man’s presence in a marriage is, for societal purposes, a fungible good that exists only to the extent that it can bring pleasure, respect, and adulation to the woman.
I hasten to point out that the above is not the case, at least in the main, on Main Street. But it is without a doubt the case among the intelligensia and talking heads on television. Nowhere outside of a select few (and increasingly shrinking number) church pulpits is any sort of contrary message being put forth at all; and when it is, it is roundly shouted down. And the more this circle is reinforced, the more it becomes the reality of expectation on Main Street, which makes marriage itself seem like an increasingly bad deal for men at large, which has all sorts of troubling societal implications that we ought to be working hard to avoid.
The Commodification of Men
I would like to propose a thought experiment to anyone offended by Patton’s remarks. Try switching out “men” for “women” in the above remarks, and see if anything she said would be considered controversial by absolutely anyone. Would anyone at all have criticized anyone for making the following statements on television?
- That men should not act like spoiled, entitled brats
- That men should not put their careers ahead of their families
- That men should appreciate and respect their wives and greet them with a gesture of kindness when they return home from work
- That even though men often think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, they’re unlikely to find a better woman than the one they’re married to
- That failure to appreciate and respect the wife of your youth can lead to dying bitter and alone
Not a single one of these statements would elicit even a raised eyebrow from anyone on either side of the political spectrum. Yet, the suggestion that women should accord reciprocal respect to men in a marriage is apparently call for near-universal outrage from everyone. The reason for this is simple – the societal expectation pendulum has swung so far that women are allowed and even expected to demand being treated like a princess by their husbands. Husbands, on the other hand, are not permitted to ask or expect anything from their wives in reciprocity at the risk of being called a neanderthal. The man’s presence in a marriage is, for societal purposes, a fungible good that exists only to the extent that it can bring pleasure, respect, and adulation to the woman.
I hasten to point out that the above is not the case, at least in the main, on Main Street. But it is without a doubt the case among the intelligensia and talking heads on television. Nowhere outside of a select few (and increasingly shrinking number) church pulpits is any sort of contrary message being put forth at all; and when it is, it is roundly shouted down. And the more this circle is reinforced, the more it becomes the reality of expectation on Main Street, which makes marriage itself seem like an increasingly bad deal for men at large, which has all sorts of troubling societal implications that we ought to be working hard to avoid.