I love chicklit, Lifetime, pink and all things girly– secret: i’ve stumbled upon many an alpha male in their dorm rooms watching a Lifetime drama–, so it was no surprise to me that I found the inspiration for this post while I was browsing through the Oxygen network’s website and stumbled upon the promo for an oxygen movie “Husband for Hire”– “Latina businesswoman Lola (Nadine Velazquez) has twenty-four hours to find a husband and get married before losing her share of the family fortune. But can she make over local workman Bo (Mark Consuelos) in time to gain her demanding father’s mandatory approval?” The tagline was, “a good man is hard to buy.” It made me think of so many of the women in the books we read. Their husbands were accessory, to prove their femininity in the corporate world defined by male gender roles. I’m particularly thinking of Shane from Lipstick Jungle. Sure he was a great dad, but ultimately, in my opinion he was a leech, albeit a gorgeous one, threatened by Wendy’s success.
So my question is, men have been doing trophy wives for years, why is it so strange when I say I just want arm candy for an upcoming formal? Why is it kind of true, “a good man is hard to buy?” while women seem up for sale? Even I am guilty of viewing a stay at home dad as somewhat emasculated. I’m not trolling the streets for male prostitutes but I do feel a pressure in my relationships to not “dominate” or be a “ball breaker.” So for a successful woman, does having a significant other somewhat become a validation of her femininity.
Sometimes a lot of chicklit books paint a bleak future for me– future spouses: a. successful billionaire who will 1. nurture my rise to the top in a very controlling manner or 2. become disinterested with his successful wife and soon move on to his next pet project. b. starving artist who I may have molded in my success but eventually will become a jealous shell of a man. or c. I have a great marriage and was once really successful but whatever, my marriage is great and I really just bask in how great it is so I really didn’t have time for a career. Hmm…
xx,
until next time,
Sattie Saturday
2 Comments
April 11, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Saw olde which in main reply should be old.
April 11, 2008 at 6:16 pm
[...] our blog had a very interesting comment in response to Sattie’s Post: A Good Man is Hard to Buy and given my interest in aging I thought I would reflect on its powerful [...]