An ad on TV that highlighted for me just how out of control the Husband Bashing has become. It’s an ad for steam cleaning carpets. It says (accompanied by the images): “Pets. Spills. Little messes (children running by). And Big Problems (Husband walks in the house). You need XYZ Cleaning company!” I was floored. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was THAT bad.

Then there’s those hilarious family sitcoms. The wife is always the picture of perfection. Smart, successful brunette supermodel married to overweight, washed out loser with a dead end job. She’s always cleaning up his messes. She’s never wrong, even when she’s being an unreasonable b****. Sean and I do enjoy watching these antics – it is funny. But there’s still a sense that something is wrong, and I often leave with an intense desire to slap the wife.

If ads or shows were aired with the woman portrayed in a similar light, I am not sure we’d be laughing. It would be pulled from air so fast, amd the producers would possibly be sued by some interest group.

What is it in our culture that says you have permission to belittle and deride a man simply for being male, while women appear to be sacrosanct?