Men ∈ the 21st century
John Edmonson defends modern man´s role ∈ society
1.° Back ∈ the 1980´s everyone was talking about the “new man”. Every magazine was full of pictures of him holding babies and saucepans, and we were told that no self-respecting modern man would expect his wife to do all the childcare or housework. So, we didn´t. The division of domestic labour changed and men got ∈ touch with their feminine side. Or at least that´s what I thought.
2.° However, read any of the articles written today on the subject and anyone would think that men haven´t changed since the beginning of time. No one seems to think the division of labour has really improved and apparently we´re supposed to feel guilty about it. But all of my married friends are new men compared to their father´s generation. They don´t expect their wives to do everything for them and they all spend quality time with their kids.
3.° I´ve got two older brothers and both of them do most of the cooking for their families, as well as being the main breadwinners. Neither of them spend hours ∈ the pub with their friends watching football. And I don´t think either of my brothers want the lifestyle our father´s generation had – certainly none of my friends do. However, no newspaper reports that. Instead we get surveys such as the one quoted ∈The Guardian saying that on an average day ∈Britain, men only spend 13 minutes caring for their children, 45 minutes cooking and doing housework, but three hours watching TV.
4.° It´s hard to find anything that shows men ∈a positive light these days. And each time I read about how selfish and unhelpful men are, my blood boils! In fact, I´ve read two articles on the subject recently, and each article suggests that all women are capable of being the breadwinner as well as running the home – apparently men aren´t necessary anymore! Would a woman tell a man that when she needed a tyre changed or when there was a burglar climbing through her window at four ∈ the morning? I think not!
(Face2face, Upper intermediate, p. 80, Cambridge University Press, 2007)
Being the “breadwinner” ∈a family means
