The Male Of The Species

In need of supplies, I ventured out in the direction of the small town's center. I stopped at the marketplace and entered, searching for the goods on my list. While examining a product at the end of an aisle, I witnessed the following scene:

A man walks past me, followed by a woman pushing a shopping cart. Both look to be in their thirties or early forties. He glances back at her and she says, "Get Brand x there on the bottom shelf, the one with the blue label." He follows her instructions, selecting the mega-size package of toilet paper from the lowest shelf. "We pay y dollars for toilet paper," he says wonderingly. "That lasts us the whole month," she replies in a matter of fact tone. "Oh," he says and continues to walk in front of the cart on towards their next destination.

Note that in this vignette, the male appears to be in the lead position as the couple traverses through the market. However, it is the female who directs the male and who instructs him in which products to gather from the vast shelves of the supercenter. Additionally, the male is unaware not only of the cost of the product they use, but also of the rate of use and the brand. The female holds the knowledge in this situation.

In all seriousness, this type of learned helplessness really annoys me. It is the less serious version of women left widowed with no idea how the family finances work. Here is an adult male so divorced from everyday household shopping that he needs explicit instructions and directions for choosing the household's preferred brand and product size. It is both mundane and amazing.