Ouch - these sissies......

The Straits Times sunday edition recently carried a story headlined "Love me, Spoil Me" about Singaporean women's high expectations of men.

And mind you, one of the key expecations is for their men to carry their hand bags !
(Ahem, my male friends from India should certainly take note of this.)

On reading this report, I thought it to be a wee bit silly and far fetched.
But loh behold, I actually witnessed this scene in person recently.

While in a taxi queue after buying groceries recently (some days after reading that report), I had a chance to observe this first-hand. A guy actually carrying his girl-friend's hand bag!!

Look at that guy, I exclaimed, tugging at my friend and her boyfriend (who was with her) and he ofcourse royally ignored me. 'Do what', he snarled edging our grocery trolley.

Thats when I realised that men generally have spatial awareness.

But imagine in this day and age of womens lib and equality, women actually expect men to behave like this! I expect a man - whatever age or stature, to atleast open the door or perhaps offer to pay (specially on the first date). BUT carry my hand bag - NO WAY!

A woman's bag, I thought, was a public manifestion of her feminity. Whether a big tote or a teeny weeny purse, its actually a deep dark cavern within which lurks make-up, money and several other personal stuff and her gossip sotrer (mobile phone and that telephone diary) - etc etc.

My handbag - is typically for me, a palce which requires rummaging whenever I need something damn fast and now - like a ringing mobile, or my ever elusive keys. A place where items are felt and never seen by anyone else other than the owner. My very own private space in a public set-up :). And mind you a man (in this case a potential prospective boyfriend, alas if and when I get one) would put his hand in there at his peril.

Anyways, coming back to that guy carrying the handbag. Well, to me, he looked like just another accessory to that girl (in this case, I dont envy her at all at having such a sissy guy). And worse, the bag was so big, and he just about her height - gosh poor thing, he looked shrunken.

I cant imagine a stooped, hand carry, dwarf to be boy friend matieral - though I must confess it was a tad bit bitchy on my part to think that way (or are the grapes sour!).

No matter how liberated a woman I maybe or sometimes (to my conveneince) traditional and conventional, to me a man has to be a man and behave like a man. I cant imagine a macho man in a polo tee with a hand bag - what a damn fashion faux pas.

A man should be a man. Wear the pants in the relation, be steadfast and sturdy in his commitment, stand by you through thick and thin, grow old with you and love you to death even when you are wrinkled and old and nagging etc etc - Its a basic primal thing.

I wonder at such women (like the one I saw with the handbag carrying guy), who are so smug with a triumphant look I sometimes see on women (specially the not-so-pretty ones), who seem to inwardly be declaiming to a sceptic like me "GOT HIM"! (okay okay, lady I too will have my arm candy - a real man man, some day)

Well, with such couples all I can say - she got the man and he got her bag.
Such women are on a pedestal, the world does not matter. And he knows his place! - well Bliss be unto them.

Sometimes I do watch such people / couples with a wee bit of envy, a look of regret.

But acutally, I would never dream of such a relation or a man.
For the reality is, I know a man cannot multitask - managing me, my handbag and the grocery trolley :)

Until then, I try and remember 'patience is genius' and I am waiting and wondering......