According to Sacks, the subtext that is provided over the epidemic of childlessness in the lives of most executives is that men are to blame. According to the women, men are to blame because according to them, men refuse to be left at home and be the primary caretaker of the kids. This would mean that, for a woman who wants to concentrate on her career, she would have to shelve her need to have kids and concentrate on her work first because if she had kids she would have to stay at home to take care of them, consequently most of the women who are successful in their careers opt not to have kids.
According to the author being a stay at home dad, has several advantages. One of the advantages is that the dad gets to spend most of the time with his children. The author reasons that most working dads that are the breadwinners of the family long for the opportunity to spend time with their kids, being at home taking care of the children affords them this opportunity. Another advantage for the stay at home dads is that they help prevent resentment later on in the relationships with their wives. This is especially the case if the woman is an executive who loves her job. Being a stay at home dad provides the perfect solution for them since the dad gets to spend time with the family and the wife gets to do what she loves, therefore, resentment is avoided.
Another advantage is that, the husband gets more power in decision-making processes, in the house contrary to popular opinion. The reasoning behind this is that the children are the most important elements in every family. The reason being, the dad gets to spend the most time with them, he gets to make a decision concerning them, and consequently the stay at home dad gets to make the decision on what matters the most in the family.
Some disadvantages come with the dad being a stay at home dad. One of them is that the child ends up preferring one parent to the other because he or she spends the most time with them. Another disadvantage is that, a career woman had less and less time to look for a career that is more rewarding if the one she is currently in is not as satisfying as she would want. For the men, the disadvantage of being a stay at home dad is that they are faced with constant boredom and they are not taken as serious caregivers to their children. Another disadvantage is that the stays at home dads are seen as unmanly, and they are freeloaders who take advantage of their wives finances. The author’s solution is practical if and only if it is by consent from both parties.
The model that the author and his family are using is a clear reversal of roles from the traditional norms and which seem to work for them. Another model of childcare that they could use is the use of a nanny, so that both parents could work and spend equal time with the daughter. This method could be better than the one they are currently using since both the parents could have equal say in the upbringing of the child and the child could not end up- preferring one parent over the other. Being a stay at home dad would not be an ideal situation. This is because even with the joy that comes with seeing, one’s child grows their even more dire need to provide for this child, therefore, and alternative source of funds for the family is important if not essential.
The video of a female player pulling an opponent’s hair and attacking her in the field is described accurately by the author (YouTube). It is also correct to say that if it were a male player who had done the same error, the judgment and the consequences of his actions would be quite different from what Elizabeth Lambert faced after her actions. This is because traditionally, men are known and to some extent expected to be brutes, as opposed to women who are expected to be gentler in nature. A woman behaving the way Elizabeth Lambert did, is criticized harshly because society expects differently.
What the author says about women being expected to be nicer in nature than men is true. Traditionally, women are known for their acts of kindness, unlike men. The reference to mothers is because women are the primary caregivers to the children and the children experience more of the compassion and love that a mother offers. Women are, therefore, held with the same standard and, therefore, are not expected to behave with the same brutality that as the men. The author says that the women have themselves to blame for their moral superiority; this is because in the bid to behave well and better than their male counterparts, they are bypassed by men who behave in self-serving manners and consequently get rewarding results. The author describes men as badly behaved individuals, and she is fair in her characterization but some men are different from others, and they behave differently from the greater male population.
According to the author, the term transgender defines a group of people whose bodies are not as easy to classify as male or female as the rest of the people. When she says that the slash between M/F cuts deep (Graff, 269), the author means that the confusion that comes with defining whether its body is either a male or a female. These differences to these individuals are not easily accepted by the rest of society. Consequently, they usually become a social outcast and in some cases; they are physically hurt by people who are ignorant enough to not accept them as they are. By saying that the line boarder between male and females is zealously guarded she means that, most of the social norms require a clear definition of whether one is a male or a female and no shades of gray are acceptable. In her book, she gives several examples of some of the people who suffered the consequences of the lack of clarity in their genders (Graff, 270). The author says that the males who violate the M- box are literary risking their lives. This is true, because there is recorded evidence of people who have been harassed because they are not what are traditionally considered male. The rights of the transgendered is similar to the rights of the women and the gays because in the past, women and the gays were deprived of the same courtesy and rights that was afforded to men
Women over the years have come to cross the traditional boundaries set to become involved in some of the organized sport traditionally associated with men. For instance, some countries that play rugby, have introduced it to women, as well. Rugby is a rough and physically challenging sport and that more than any other reason is why it is predominantly played by men. Women play the sport and in some countries like Kenya, have come to perfect it. Another sport that was considered a men only sport but currently a feminine one is bodybuilding and power lifting. These are examples where women have overcome the boundaries and in some cases, they have become so good at it and are praised. However, in other scenarios, this is not the case. In the YouTube, video “Hate-Crime Beating at a MacDonald’s” the victim Chrissy Polis is attacked viciously by a pair of teenage girls after one of their boyfriends tried to charm her. According to her, the attacked increased considerably after they learnt that she was a transgender. This is an instance where traditional boundaries are crossed, and they are not so well received. Women are not perceived as violent people and the fact that teenage girls perpetrated such aggression against an individual is not something that is commonly heard off, accepted or condoned by society.
Works Cited
Graff, E. J.. The M/F Boxes. Boston, Mass.: Beacon, 1999. Print.
"Hate crime beating at a MacDonald’s." YouTube. Version 2435. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hatecrime+beating+at+a+macdonalds>.
