If you are a male above the age of 18, then chances are you have lost count as to how many times you have held a purse. Regardless of reason or intent, be it a good or bad thing in your eyes, you have held a purse — and you have done it a lot.
Whether from curiosity or accommodation, you are more than familiar with a number of different purses and handbags. For example, I could spot a fake Dooney & Bourke in the 8th grade (it’s in the stitch work).
While most aren’t “like me,” most fellow Y-chromosome owners have held purses to aid in the search for keys, matches or pen and paper.
Maybe there was a lot to carry, and it was the first thing handed to you. Maybe you were asked to hold it while the person possessing two X chromosomes went to the bathroom.
Maybe it was a joke. Maybe it was for your mother or for that girl who only likes you as a friend. In any event, you have held a purse. We all have — it’s not that big of a deal.
Through the spans of time, men and women have debated the dos and don’ts of the roles each fulfills, or should fulfill. Some have even argued which roles should not be had by the other, if at all.
They might be as trivial as who holds the purse, who opens the door, pays the bill, drives the car, wears the “pants” of the relationship, cooks, cleans, runs the errands, chooses décor or who holds the remote control.
It seems with each passing day that we move further into the future, the lists of what men and women can and can’t do and how they should be treated along the way continues to change.
The Lilly Ledbetter Act was a good move. And while the fight to obtain hormonal contraception as easily as Viagra is still at hand, at least the military has removed some of its restrictions on female service members. With all of these recent advances, even those before, each was met with quite the backlash.
This past Saturday however, the position held by some — trying to tell women what to do — might have met their match.
The main event for UFC 157 featured two prominent, young female fighters for the Women’s Bantamweight Championship:Ronda Rousey, a bronze medal Olympian in Judo and Liz Carmouche, a veteran of the Marines.
Leading up to the bout, many debated the motives or need to feature two women for the first time in this sport. The president of the UFC, Dana White, was once steadfast that women would never make it to this point.
Never say never.
After months and years of blood, sweat and tears, the bell finally rang, and the two squared off. By the end of the evening, Rousey was victorious, and the two proved that women can open cans of MMA just as well as any Tom, Dick or Harry.
The “gentlemen”-only aspect of Ultimate Fighting and White’s business model aren’t alone when it comes to coasting downhill into the winds of change, we are all along for the ride.
For far too long, men have held the belief that we should be behind the wheel, that we should be making the tough decisions and lifting the heavy things, while laundry and coupon cutting should be left to the fairer sex.
Given the males propensity to holding purses and the emergence of female arm bars, perhaps a re-evaluation is order in regards to the capability — even existing ability — of talents and traits possessed by men and women, and how best they should be applied for all.
With only a short amount of time on this Earth, I can recognize that throughout history, men (myself included) haven’t always made the best decisions. If the ladies want to take on more, I say go for it.
In many respects, the hen has come home to roost. Personally, I don’t mind “staying at home.”
By all means, go work and be plentiful. Dusting comes naturally to me, and I love going to the grocery store. Just don’t ask me to arm wrestle.
Reach the columnist at jbfortne@asu.edu or follow him at @JOMOFO40
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