We always have to double-check to see if it’s Salon or Slate whenever we come across an attempt to ruin a holiday, but this time out it’s Slate, with its piece entitled, “You Will Hate Your Husband After Your Kid Is Born.”
You will hate your husband after your kid is born. (Happy Mother’s Day!) https://t.co/AOtccmzcFA pic.twitter.com/IHSiUafgiQ
— Slate (@Slate) May 13, 2017
Jancee Dunn, author of “How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids,” draws on personal anecdotes backed by scientific studies to show that having a baby creates a lot of new chores that husbands and wives don’t always split evenly; therefore, “If you have a husband, you will hate him when your kid is born.”
I thought I had married an evolved guy—one who assured me, when I was pregnant, that we would divide up the work equally. Yet right after our baby was born, we backslid into hidebound midcentury gender roles as I energetically overmet my expectations. I was feeding the baby, so I started cooking for the whole family (pre-baby, Tom and I had alternated). I was laundering our daughter’s absurdly large mountain of soiled onesies, so I took over laundry duty. Soon I was the “expert” in changing a diaper.
Hidebound midcentury gender roles strike again! Slate really missed out on a prime opportunity to add a big, bold “BREAKING” or “EXCLUSIVE” to its headline.
I was waiting for your "People who celebrate Mother's Day are white supremacists" article. You went a different direction I see.
— Ric White (@ScoobyCheese) May 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/AmyOtto8/status/863495874101395456
We're afraid to even try, TBH. https://t.co/2rj9Fz4Msi
— Crusty Gobblestein (@NathanWurtzel) May 13, 2017
Just in case your baby is due tomorrow and Amazon Prime can’t deliver Dunn’s book to the maternity ward until Monday, here are a few tips to keep your marriage together until then.
A few ideas on how to avoid this.
(1) TALK TO EACH OTHER.
(2) HAVE SEX.
(3) DON'T TRY TO FIGHT BIOLOGY YOU IDIOT.https://t.co/4xQyWVtGNd— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
(4) Don't presume Slate knows what it's talking about on *anything!* https://t.co/OoHBzFd3w6
— 睡い。。。 (@PatronStOfSleep) May 13, 2017
You know those married couples with multiple kids like 16-18 months apart? (Present!) Guess how that happened.
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
If in doubt, ask yourself, "What would Catholics do?" If you can't wrap your brain around that, try Mormons/Orthodox Jews. Similar outcomes.
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
Also, hat tip @AmyOtto8, if he says he's going to soak the dishes, that may be because he thinks he's supposed to.
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
For the love of God, if he loves you, his heart is breaking seeing you exhausted, tell him how to help and that you need it.
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
Did a gender study in college where they said comm skills like that were okay and the onus was on men to just figure it out. So ridiculous.
— Crash Tinkle (@SocrateezNutz) May 13, 2017
Yes. That's poison.
Actually, a lot of studies show men try to avoid confrontation in the home. THIS MEANS WE'RE EASILY TRAINED DAMMIT.
— (((≠))) (@ThomasHCrown) May 13, 2017
Agreed. There's a lot of projection here. Maybe she just wants to think her experience is normal.
— David L (@dl_96) May 13, 2017
Full disclosure: I'm a man, so my opinion may not count here.
— David L (@dl_96) May 13, 2017
* * *
Related:
'Kill me now'! Meet the WaPo writer who's proudly raising her cats 'gender-neutral' https://t.co/vZdtSH0kDo pic.twitter.com/d2IqATu4fT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 5, 2016
Join the conversation as a VIP Member