Lately, I've spent a fair bit of time thinking about and writing about gender roles. During one of these conversations I read something that really got me thinking.
Women have fought for the last 100 years for rights, the right to vote, the right to work, the right to work wherever they want, their reproductive rights, the list goes on and on. However, in the fight for equality, there's been an oversight.
A friend summarized it better than I could.
"I used to read a blog about a young man as an elementary school teacher who met with deep resistance to his existence. Admittedly, it's just a blog and therefore chock full of pure anecdote, but I can't help but wonder just how much women are prepared to "trust" a man in positions that used to be theirs and theirs alone."
While we've been more than happy to be mechanics, doctors, and CEO's, and expect that the traditional holders of these positions will recognize that we're equally competent, she should trust men to be nurses, elementary teachers and stay at home dads.
But, have we?
This article isn't the blog referenced above, but I think it speaks to the same point. In asking for a piece of "men's" territory, are we willing to give them some of ours?
The Mistrusted Male Teacher
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