There is this new commercial playing in the theaters and on TV. It is a cartoon for Phoenix Online Classes or something like that, but what rubbed me the wrong way is the total omission of a father figure. Is it easier to put their message out of a woman succeeding in a tough world and providing for her kids without a man? I find it a bit insulting and a big lie.
People progress at their own speeds, I know we can't all be finished with school by the time we want, sometimes life gets in the way, but in my life experience, Wife was able to go back and get her Master's degree because we discussed it and I fully supported her. Of course, she did all the schoolwork and she has been a beast taking care of everything that was required and holding a job, but she also had me supporting her and while she was going to school, I was making at least twice her salary. I just don't believe she finishes the program as fast as she did without my support. My sister also needed to take classes post marriage and again, she had her husband in full support. Now she gets to be a bad ass Principal who has turned the Junior high around and solved a lot of discipline issues because she takes no shit and does not hesitate to get rid of any little a-hole, "Off With His Head!!!" if she could, but "off to the alternative school for you."
We could go back a generation and my mom did a similar program where she took a bunch of classes on nights and summers to become a counselor. Prior to that, she had been the typing teacher and she taught some business classes, both of which I am not sure exist anymore. Sure my dad was never half as helpful as I am around the house, but it was different times and he did help in paying the bills, so it's not like my mom was doing it alone, even if she had the house full with a ton of kids.
In the cartoon, the lady is working in an assembly room running a press or drill machine, she gets downsized to where she is the last one doing it in a world full of robots doing her job and eventually she gets the boot. There is a second of her feeling sorry for herself, then she starts taking classes and in the next scene the "she can do it." slogan becomes "she can do IT." It is a clever little play on a very old woman's empowerment BS. I maintain that anything like this would be at least for two years as an associate's degree, so it is definitely not overnight. I guess they don't need to show her living on food stamps and section 8 housing for a couple years? Not that there's anything wrong with that, I guess, but woman's empowerment still needs financial support from somewhere, so don't act like the men don't matter.
Seriously, women, quit fucking losers who are going to leave you saddled with a bunch of kids so you're not the sad sack trying to figure out what you are going to do when your job becomes obsolete. I realize I may lose my awesome job one day, which is why I encouraged Wife to do what she did, there may be a time she carries me. I just hate commercials like this, even if we live in a world where husbands are becoming an endangered species, don't glorify it.
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