well, I mean different than biologically.
no one has really answered my example about different jobs/hobbies. this has been used to not let girls play sports for example, in some places in the past because it’s a male thing supposedly. or not let them have certain careers.
At one time womanhood was exalted way over what it really is into a cult of feminine that required women to fulfill certain roles and not do certain things. I was brought up in this mentality when I was a girl, so I experienced it. I was expected to marry and have children or have a job, but not a real career because I’d never stick to it once I was needed at home. This idea was mere convention of the times. I was never encouraged to go out for any sports. Of course, I wasn’t physically adept at sports, anyway, but girls sports were limited to gymnastics and cheerleading, neither of which I could do.
Children are pretty much physically equal until puberty sets in, when the bodily differences between the sexes become pronounced. Biological differences make men and women playing some sports together dicey. Men’s body strength is in their shoulders and women in their hips, besides men are generally stronger than women. Most women wouldn’t be able to compete against men in footfall, for example. Even tennis shows up the differences quite strongly.
With the rush to make women men’s equals, as it was thought needed to be done in the 60’s (as if the male model is the superior one–an insult to us females IMHO), the “womanly” arts were downplayed. Any woman who didn’t want to compete in a “man’s world” was considered backwards, stupid, a slave, or lazy–as if caring for a household, children, and a husband made women any of those things.
Any woman who wants to work in the world and have a career can do so, and that’s fine, of course. I’d hope she would want to hold on to her legitimate feminity even so. There’s no good reason why a woman can’t be a woman in nearly any profession she may choose. Having said that, there are many women who feel they have to work outside the home just to have more things or to ensure the furture of their children. There are those who need to work outside the home, of course. But the fact is a good many women in the workplace could quit their jobs with no real financial harm to their families, and indeed might find it less expensive than paying for daycare, clothes for work, commuting, eating out, etc. that comes with working outside the home.
The upshot is, as I see it, that alll factors, as well as a woman’s talents/desires should be taken into consideration. And in some cases it might be best for the husband to be the stay-at-home parent. All reasonable options ought to be on the table and open for consideration, as I see it.
