Starting A New Business? 7 Key Points To Keep In Mind.

FeministReadSocial Issues
February 8, 2016

What Your Mother Is NOT [How To Be A 21st Century Man Part-1]

As a 21st century man, how do you treat the women in your life? A reminder to tell you what your mother is NOT.

Nabanita Datta

As a 21st century man, how do you treat the women in your life? A reminder to tell you what your mother is NOT.
This is Part 1 in this series. We have published Part 2 (What your sister is NOT) and Part 3 (What your wife is NOT) elsewhere.
1. Your mother is NOT your servant. You cannot be lounging on the sofa watching the match and ordering her to get you water/coffee/chips.
2. Your mother is NOT your waitress. Do not expect her to serve you food standing beside you, as you gobble down and burp! It is extremely insulting. Neither expect her to pick up your plates. Pick them up yourself. If you have finished eating, sit at the table till she finishes her food.
3. Your mother is NOT your caretaker. She is not supposed to remind you to cut your hair or trim your nails.
4. Your mother is NOT your governess. Pick up your own socks, polish you own shoes, do your own laundry, iron your own clothes, stitch your own buttons, clear up your own desk. Basically, overcome your domestic handicap.
5. Your mother is NOT your alarm clock/ wake-up call in-charge. If you have an early morning engagement/practice session/flight, she is not supposed to make you tea, forgoing her own well-deserved rest hours.
6. Your mother is NOT your secretary/manager : don’t ask “Maa, where is my office file?”.
7. Your mother is NOT your mind-reader : don’t come back home sulking after a bad day at work and expect her to pamper you.
8. Your mother is NOT your housekeeper. It is her magnanimity that she cleans up your room and tidies it when you are out. Firmly ask her not to do it, and do it yourself regularly.
9. Your mother is NOT your washerwoman. Don’t ask her “Maa, where is my gangi? Where are my socks?”
10. Your mother is NOT your cook. Don’t expect the meal to be ready to be served as soon as you are home. You may have to cook yourself, when/if she is busy elsewhere in her own life.
11.Your mother is NOT your appointment diary. Don’t tell her, “Maa, please remind me to pay the bill tomorrow”. Grow up!
12. Your mother is NOT your father’s assistant. Even if you see you father talking to her in an ‘ordering’ tone of voice, you do not do that. Comfort her when she feels insulted at the snide behaviour by arrogant males of the previous generation, who are conditioned to believe women to be ‘inferior’. Firmly ask those males to talk to her with respect and dignity.
13. Your mother is NOT from ‘another family’, and you do not belong only to your father’s side of the family. Respect biology. You are her descendant also.
14. Your mother is NOT your punching bag. Never be rude to her since you had a bad day at office/got frustrated due to someone’s behavior/lost your cellphone.
15. Your mother is NOT just an uterus : you came 50% from her ovum also. You were only 50% in your father’s sperm. She is not an oven which cooks your dad’s bun. If you consider her as a baby-producing machine, be ready to be labelled as a sperm-producing machine yourself.
16. Your mother is NOT supposed to have your dad’s surname. She does not have any blood relationship with him. The opposite is also true.
17. Your mother is NOT doing ‘her Manu-Smriti-dictated duty’ in your father’s house, nor is she supposed to by the Indian Constitution, nor can you punish her by any Section of the IPC for not doing so. It is her extreme magnanimity that she left her daughter’s duties and came here to pamper your father’s and your paternal grandfather’s egos. As a 21st century man, it is your utmost duty to reverse this trend to neutrality. Don’t wait to have a daughter to understand that. Don’t even wait to have a wife to understand that.
18. Your mother is NOT going to be replaced with your wife. Don’t pressurize these two women to swap roles repeatedly for your convenience.
Published earlier here.

Comments

About the Author

Nabanita Datta

Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. http://iitkgp.ac.in/fac-profiles/showprofile.php?empcode=SUmUS read more...

12 Posts | 100,844 Views

Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!

Women Leaders in Communications Discuss The Responsible 5G Revolution We Need

Newsmakers
March 19, 2023

Sonali Kulkarni Issues Public Apology For Her Statement

Actor Sonali Kulkarni apologized after facing the ire of netizens for her insensitive remark; stating that a lot of women in India are ‘lazy’.

Aditi D
Sonali Kulkarni Issues Public Apology For Her Statement

Actor Sonali Kulkarni recently faced the ire of netizens for her insensitive remark during an interview, stating that a lot of women in India are ‘lazy’. They just want a husband who has a good job, a house, and who gets regular increments. She went on to further say that women don’t have the courage to say what they will do once they get married to their respective spouses.

Image

Image Source: Sonali Kulakarni’s Twitter

Few of the people in the audience applauded her for her statement, after which she had to ask the audience to shower ‘taliyan’ (claps). The fact that she had to ask for applause speaks a lot already!

Read Full Article
Entrepreneurship

9 Best Business To Start With Little Money, Yes Under ₹10000!

Not all business ventures require a hefty amount to be set up. Here are 9 best business to start with little money, yes, as little as ₹10000!

Akankha Basu Roy
9 Best Business To Start With Little Money, Yes Under ₹10000!

Not all business ventures require a hefty amount to be set up. Here are the 9 best business to start with little money, yes, as little as ₹10000!

Every one has entrepreneurial ideas, don’t we? Mine was to open an organization that hosted events wherein kids from orphanages and elderlies from old-age homes were brought together.

It was unique, at least that is what my professor told me. But the amount of money as capital made it a distant dream. Sigh! But are there any ventures which need little money? Can we start our entrepreneurial journey with just ₹10000?

Read Full Article
Load More Related Articles
write
advertise
intern
All Categories
Art & Culture As You Write It Attend Books Campaigns Career Growth Crime & Law Disability & Inclusion Entrepreneurship Fashion Feminist Fitness & Wellness Food For Young Women Humour learn LGBTQ Money Newsmakers Parenting Parenting Tips Participate Pop Culture Read Relationships Sex & Sexuality Short Stories & Poetry Social Issues Sports Stories From Moms Travel Women's History Workplace Issues