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Living With Male Chauvinism..........by Susan
Posted by ozzieblackcat at 1/31/2008 12:00 PM and is filed under Anger,depression,Relationships,Family,Mental Health,Stress,self esteem 
I have lived my life with men who practice what used to be referred to as 'Male Chauvinism'. It began of course, with my father who was a very loving person but........he was also a sergeant in the Army. He used to tell his six daughters and one son this: "Saturday we were going to have a G I party". This meant we all had to clean our rooms. He was bossy and required us to live by his standards in all areas of our lives. If he came home and mom told him one of us needed a spanking, he gave it to us. He required all of us to go to confession once every two weeks, regardless of whether we felt the need to confess anything.
I can't begin to tell you how many times my mother asked him not to talk so loud. I guess his career required a lot of yelling and he didn't leave his job at the office. Those were the early days. Later, after he retired from the military, he changed. He changed a lot as I began my high school years. He began to drink heavily. My mother also changed and was often mean to him and her children. They fought a lot as my siblings and I tried to get as far away from it as possible. We had a large home and a large yard, thank God!
I've never forgotten this incident when my Dad was especially chauvinistic. I was studying accounting, shorthand, and typing in school and hoped to work in an office when I graduated. These were my Dad's words of support: "It's good to have a skill, in case something happens to your husband and you have to go to work". Yesterday, while visiting with some of my female friends who are fellow Avon Representatives, they were talking about the encouragement their dads gave them. That conversation is what brought to mind the lack of encouragement I received from my dad.
I pat myself on the back daily for the progress I've been making in improving my self esteem. I'm happy with the desire I have to accomplish something in addition to being a wife and mother. I've been working hard online to promote my ozzieblackcat websites and my Avon blog and website. I've also been working hard to make a small income to supplement my husband's retirement income. I still battle the attitude of some of the men in my life who continue to display an attitude of "chauvinism" or superiority. I also battle the anger I feel when my husband behaves in this manner. Many men have let go of this attitude of superiority, but there are some of us who are still living with "male chauvinism" and this someone is surviving. My happiness level continues to increase as I learn to be the best I can be.
Please visit:
Ozzie Reviews Avon
My Avon Website
I can't begin to tell you how many times my mother asked him not to talk so loud. I guess his career required a lot of yelling and he didn't leave his job at the office. Those were the early days. Later, after he retired from the military, he changed. He changed a lot as I began my high school years. He began to drink heavily. My mother also changed and was often mean to him and her children. They fought a lot as my siblings and I tried to get as far away from it as possible. We had a large home and a large yard, thank God!
I've never forgotten this incident when my Dad was especially chauvinistic. I was studying accounting, shorthand, and typing in school and hoped to work in an office when I graduated. These were my Dad's words of support: "It's good to have a skill, in case something happens to your husband and you have to go to work". Yesterday, while visiting with some of my female friends who are fellow Avon Representatives, they were talking about the encouragement their dads gave them. That conversation is what brought to mind the lack of encouragement I received from my dad.
I pat myself on the back daily for the progress I've been making in improving my self esteem. I'm happy with the desire I have to accomplish something in addition to being a wife and mother. I've been working hard online to promote my ozzieblackcat websites and my Avon blog and website. I've also been working hard to make a small income to supplement my husband's retirement income. I still battle the attitude of some of the men in my life who continue to display an attitude of "chauvinism" or superiority. I also battle the anger I feel when my husband behaves in this manner. Many men have let go of this attitude of superiority, but there are some of us who are still living with "male chauvinism" and this someone is surviving. My happiness level continues to increase as I learn to be the best I can be.
Please visit:
Ozzie Reviews Avon
My Avon Website
This was a great post and on my desktop your background is indeed red. On my laptop it really was dark pink. Great post, keep this up.
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Thank you for your support.
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