Wednesday, February 20, 2008

He said what?


So being in the major I am in at the school I am at I tend to hear things I wish I never had to hear. Since BYU is a good percentage LDS and a good percentage of LDS people believe that women should probably stay at home with their children it is no surprise to me when I hear things like I heard today but I still wish I could smack the guys who say these types of things around a little bit.

The overheard conversation went something like this:
"Yeah, my wife works 40 hours a week but not over. If she does well ... let's just say if I ever get home and she isn't home yet (may have said something about dinner being ready also) I've promised her I'll get her pregnant that night"

Yeah, I think any girl in the business program has at one time or another when consulting the opposite sex about furthering their education been told that getting an MBA is a dumb idea. "You'd only use it for like a year to support me during school anyway". I myself have experienced at least one conversation of this nature and in my humble opinion it is between the husband, the wife, and God to decide whether a women should in fact stay home with her children, continue her education, or work full- or part-time.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that way too many guys in the Marriott School think too highly of themselves and too lowly of the women around them, including their spouse. I feel like the sexism that goes on in the Marriott School is beyond ancient. I am no raging feminist by any means but I am a believer in discussion not assumption. By that, I mean that a wife's future should be discussed with her husband not just assumed by him. My guess is that the person having the above conversation will someday end up jobless and bankrupt wishing his wife (or very possibly ex-wife) had indeed gotten her MBA to support him.

6 comments:

christy said...

any comment like that would bother me because it's like he's saying that he's the boss and she better do certain things or else. a marriage doesn't work that way whether about work or anything else. it should be an equal union with two equal brains at work. i do think moms should be at home with their kids but it should be a joint decision that the husband greatly appreciates and if she works and is a mom too that hubby better pull his weight at home too. i felt their were a lot of male pigs with that attitude when i was at byu. not so much the students but some of the high up old men that run the school and eliminate majors that graduate pretty much only women. i wanted to do my final thesis on why they were eliminating my major and no one above my instructors would allow me an interview. i was pretty much told to be quiet about it or else. no school is perfect. i still like byu overall though.

kelsey said...

Weird. I'm always surprised by attitudes like this. Maybe you should verbally smack them around a bit, so that their philosophies don't go unchallenged.

Lauren Jayne said...

I can't believe there are men walking around today who actually have that mentality...sick.

Samantha said...

You definitely should verbally smack them around.

Maybe I'm dumb but I don't even get what that guy said.

I say you can't really know what you want to do until you have kids -husband and wife alike.

Also, I read The Lovely Bones (I saw it on your list), and it's very good. I liked it a lot. However it's really very sad and painful sometimes.

jb said...

Love this post, Brooke! And yes, I do stalk your blog ocassionally :)

Jessi B

Mrs. Mike said...

Disrespectful, chauvinistic (sp?) jerk.