Only lets her shave her legs and not her armpits. For a visual, she teaches hula dancing.
Makes her turn in her dull razor to get another sharp one from him.
Won’t let her and the kids turn on the air-conditioning while he’s at work. Since he is not there to “enjoy” the a/c then he is not going to pay for it. (Even though he sits in an air-conditioned office all day at work.)
Will not allow her to turn on the heat at home while he’s at work. Again, he is not there to benefit from it.
Makes her sew large, heavy, quilts so she and the kids can keep warm before he gets home from his heated work place.
Won’t let her spend a dime.
Insists on cooking dinner for the family. This guarantees she will not do any grocery shopping. This would go against the “her spending money rule”. She and the kids often have to wait until eight o’clock before dinner its ready. By then the kids are starving. No one is allowed to eat early.
Makes her bake the kid’s birthday cakes from scratch, enough to feed 100 family members. However, he will not buy her more than one cake pan. She has to keep baking cakes, one by one, until she has made enough for everyone.
Staples her shoes back together when they fall apart.
Makes her wear big, chunky-clunky sandals instead of cute ones.
Makes her sew her own clothes.
Will only let the kids have silkworms as pets because there is no pet food to purchase. She has to walk around the city harvesting mulberry leaves from trees to feed them. I swear this is true.
Won’t buy cheese because it bothers his stomach. If he can’t derive enjoyment from it then no one in the family can have it.
Won’t let her teach the kids to clean the house properly. He demonstrates to them how to shove objects in every nook and cranny, with no order whatsoever.
Would not get her a golf umbrella, even though she walks the kids to school in the rain. He feels her tiny-kid-sized-Spiderman umbrella is sufficient until it wears out.
Now, before you say I must be describing members of the Taliban regime or these must be some kind of cultural norms, let me just say this is your typical American family of five. He has a great job, they live in a beautiful house, are financially secure and have two nice cars.
So yesterday when this woman FINALLY asked me if I thought her husband’s conventions were normal, what do you think I said…
