Ungrateful Wife Slams Mr. Mom Hubby on GMA

In a moment of procrastinatory weakness this afternoon, I went over to Jezebel.com to get my media/feminist fix and came upon this clip from Good Morning America about a couple experiencing a role reversal due to the financial crisis. And I realized why I can't read Jezebel because then I get all huffy and have to climb up on my soap box.

Basically, the clip demonstrates why couples get divorced. Or why they kill each other. The husband lost his job and now plays the "Mr. Mom" role of taking care of their child, while his wife works long days in sales and comes home after the kid is in bed. The couple now sleeps in separate bedrooms because of this arrangement.

However, while the husband says he is grateful to be at home, to spend time with their daughter, etc, the wife disclosed that she has lost respect for her husband (especially when she comes home to find him donning "her apron") because she always dreamed of a life where a man put a roof over her head and took care of her.

When I watched this, I wanted to freakin' strangle this woman. First of all, hello, it's 2009. Roles of men and women are changing to accommodate the new views of masculinity and femininity that the women's movement in particular works tirelessly to advocate. In fact, when we put men and women into binary roles (men are the breadwinners, women are the housewives), people become extremely dissatisfied and anxious, according to some studies. Part of living in an egalitarian society is that the gender roles are flexible and, as a result, men and women can operate on a more even ground.

While I understand that the heinous woman in the clip was just being honest, I can't help but hate her. How dare she put that kind of pressure on her husband, who is doing the best he can. The guy probably feels awful enough already having lost his job. And then to belittle him for being fulfilled by his role of a caretaker/stay-at-home Dad? This woman's warped perception of the way things "should" be sends a horrible message to her daughter (who clearly isn't benefiting from her mother's inability to get with the program and realize that she's the problem, not her husband), and it perpetuates a system that divides men and women based on out-dated, gender-centric stereotypes.

Anyway. Watch the clip. Interested to hear what other people think about this. I, for one, will gladly take a husband who enjoys being a dad and can cook/clean/do laundry. But maybe that's just me...