Article here. Excerpt:
'I was with a group of friends the other day when the discussion turned to our husbands. I held my breath and waited for someone to say my least favorite saying in the entire world.
Yep, someone said, "Oh, I have four kids — my three girls and my husband." Ugh. It supposed to sound cute, but it doesn't. It sounds condescending.
Women need their friends in a very real but very different way than men need their friends. We use girl time to talk through our problems and make sense of what's going on in our lives, but too often conversations dissolve into "man bashing." We see it as harmless joking at our husbands' expense. No big deal, right?
Let's turn the tables for a second and imagine this scenario. Picture your husband sitting around talking with his friends. This is what they say.
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Husband: "We went on a picnic as a family. It was crazy, though. I had to get everyone ready because my wife was primping in the bathroom forever. She's so scattered sometimes. I wish she'd help out more. I feel like everything is my responsibility the second I get home from work. I mean, come on, the house is a wreck, and... "
I could go on, but I think you can fill in the blanks. Now, imagine you knew your husband said this about you. You'd probably kill him. I mean, how dare he talk about you like that to someone else? That's completely unacceptable.
Except, ladies, we do this all the time. I think we let ourselves off the hook because we're more social. We like to talk, and we can look cute and jokey without coming off like jerks. That doesn't make it OK, however.
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