Women, Do You Enjoy Being Treated Like a Garage?

Think for a moment about how the responsibilities of the typical hetero-normative (or rather stereotypical) American home is divided based on gender.

Women cook, clean, tend to children, do laundry, organize social gatherings; all things that demand a woman's eye for detail, care and nurturing.

Men are typically left to matters of the garage and the yard; what some men would argue as being a kind gesture to save women from getting dirty.

While this stereotypical man only regularly assumes responsibility of the yard and matters of the garage, he is still granted the title of Head of Household for typically being the primary breadwinner.

The issue of women's rights is at the forefront of debate, yet again in the United States, and the issue at hand is whether or not women should have access to birth control through their employer provided insurance. Not surprisingly, many men and many conservatives disagree. My opinion on the subject does not matter, but I would like to present an observation of parallels.

As previously stated, men are stereotypically courteous by assuming responsibility of yard and garage related chores. Now, consider the automobile. For most people, the automobile is an extension of self; an appendage, if you will, that we control, use to impress, use to thrill and typically make a concerted effort to protect and maintain. This is a generalization, but men, being the breadwinners that they are, are allotted a smaller, sportier car with which to commute to and from work, while women are typically envisioned as house wives, soccer moms or working professionals who masterfully balance their careers and their homes. Regardless, women are typically seen in less glamorous sedans, SUVs and mini vans.

Being that men typically assume responsibility of matters pertaining to the garage, this would mean that they typically assume responsibility of a family's automobiles. The car, being an enjoyable extension of self is parked in the garage, which man claims as his own. Every tool, the lawnmower, craft, project, etc. are housed in the garage or a similar shed.

Now consider male anatomy in relation to female anatomy. Do you gather how male genitalia serves as an analogy for an automobile and how female genitalia serve as an analogy for a garage? The idea of controlling what happens and where things go in their presumed "garage" is the thought process behind much the current debate of contraception. Morality, ethics and faith based arguments are all convenient excuses that distract from the core issue at hand: there are men who, as a result of their beliefs, are resistant to giving up control of that which they deem as their entitled property. They are backed by their conservative allies, female colleagues and supporters who affirm the subservient role of a woman to a man.

This way of thinking will ultimately die off and become extinct because contrary to what many elected officials and their supporters believe, times are changing and have been changing from decade to decade. People are evolving and we are being forced to adapt to an ever changing social environment.

Sex happens. You may not see or hear it, but rest assured, it is happening.

Conservatism has an archaic habit of wanting to control and exploit women rather than equalize and support. The fact remains, women are not cars. You cannot park yourself, your legislation, rules or opinion in them just because you are in a role of leadership, or go so far as to think you own them.

Controlling is not being grateful for women. Protecting a woman's best interest, healthy and safety is expressing gratitude for women. There are many men who will simply fail to evolve and adapt in light of their presumed entitlement and authority. For example, Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, has recently found himself in a precarious situation because of his outburst against Sandra Fluke, a law student arguing in favor of contraception. In an attempt to belittle and demean her, he called her a "slut" and a "prostitute," on his radio show, but it is his advertisers that are now abandoning him in droves. Surely, this was not the response he expected his inflammatory words to produce.

I would argue that the only people to find his remarks humorous would have probably looked like him, or older. There is also a strong likelihood that many of them were in their garages, listening on their hand held radios, comfortably in their ways, unwilling to adapt or evolve.