For the first time in a long time I am feeling like Fred Flintstone. I go out to work, bring home a Bronto or two and know that Wilma is there to cook it up. It is a strange sensation being part of a traditional gender role relationship again. I like it.

I don’t know that I have talked about this specific topic in this way before, but I have talked around it a bit in terms of male/female relationships. In those cases it was why we as men feel the way we do, now it is just an expression of contentment on Fred’s part.

Personally I find nothing wrong with gender roles and living in a place where gender roles are observed. I know that today we are in society where gender roles can get blurred, but why is that? Is it that men are getting less manly, or are women becoming more masculine? If you ask me it is the latter, and I am not so sure that is such a good thing.

Men are told to get in touch with their feminine side, but I rarely hear women talk about getting in touch with their masculine side; probably because they are already doing that. The advance in women’s rights (which I have no problem with, and think it was long over due) has however put women into a more masculine role of provider. Here is where I think Fred is going to be threatened.

Fred likes to think of himself as the sole provider. When Wilma is providing (completely or in addition to) he feels he is not doing his part and gets grouchy. The ingrain machismo is bruised whether he wants to admit it or not. It helps if Wilma continues on with her traditional role and respects his feelings (often stepped on by overachieving women) and he can deal with it. In fact Fred may offer to run the MMH Vac (mini-mastodon Vacuum) and thus adds value when poor Wilma is tired too (after she is working as well.)

The hard part at this point is when Wilma expects it to happen and bashes Fred for not helping out. When Fred is put on the spot to do it, he now feels like he’s Wilma and that is not cavemanly at all. Wilma needs to be supportive rather than derisive. After all Fred is having a hard enough time with all this anyways. These new roles go against forty thousand years of training and this is hard to get used to.

But Fred is a good sport and will give it his best. Sometimes it just takes a little time and understanding as Fred gets used to the new situation.