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Saturday, April 07, 2007
Doug Giles :: Townhall.com Columnist
How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: The Final Straw
by Doug Giles
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Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


I think the world is coming to an end. I didn’t come to this conclusion simply because a lot of people actually read and like my column, but primarily because of the tons of positive emails I’m getting from former livid ladies confessing their remorse for their previous acts of husband hating. It’s crazy. It must be global warming causing all these ex-ice queens to melt and warm up to their men. See, global warming ain’t all that bad, Al. Anyway, enough of the happy crap. . . .

I want to continue to feed the wives who want to snuff the life out of their marriage and make that thing more tedious that listening to Sanjaya sing, “Riders on the Storm.”

Having covered “nag your husband and disparage him in public” in part one and “how to drive him nuts by short leashing him, becoming a drama queen, hating his friends and hating his hobbies” in part two, I now offer you (the bellicose beastesses of husband hatred) the final four fundamentals that will make your husband prefer being bitten on the crotch by a black mamba to your blah, blah, blah.

7. Cut him off sexually. Another great way to make your man hit a depressed state that is only eclipsed by the one Rosie O’Donnell’s proctologist deals with is to cut him off from hot relations. I mean, give him nada. Guys will stomach some nagging, getting short leashed, multitudinous Naomi Campbellesque dramatic outbursts and your general disinterest of his interests—as long as you rock his world in the bedroom. Yes, most men are that easy.

Your job, Jezebel, is to ruin your marriage; therefore, it’s not enough to rag and ridicule him and then run his friends off. No, you must go the second mile and turn into the Sex Nazi: “No sex for you!”

Yes, your goal, Cold Ethel, is to make Hillary Clinton look like Jenna Jameson. I’m talkin’ about shutting the sex factory downnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Cutting him off sexually will intensify his marital angst and could, if you’re lucky, help push him over the temptation edge into an affair or into a crazy porn addiction or some other soul unraveling behavior like doubting his manhood, his sanity or his reasons for falling in love with you in the first place. Pretty cool, eh?

If you do ever have sex with your husband, you’ve got to make sure it’s not out of love for him or the desire to have fun and enjoy his intimate company, but rather as the means to some sinister, manipulative end. Make your hubby sexually pay until he obeys. Here’s what ‘cha gotta do. When he locks step to your wishes (I mean to the “T”), then, and only then, do you dole out a little sexual treat. Get that whole Pavlov’s dog thing going with him.

Under no circumstances should you show appreciation, be tender, fun, amorous and adventurous or do any other thing that’ll keep the love flame lit. TLC, if injected into the marriage mix, will cause the two of you to have a healthy sexual relationship, which obviously helps a marriage (plus burns calories)—and that would completely derail your desires for marital misery.

8. Get your parents and/or siblings involved in your marriage. Forget this leave and cleave stuff the Bible dictates. If you want your union to unravel then you’ve got to gang tackle your husband with la familia. For example: if you, as a couple, have a major decision to make, seek counsel and opinions only from your mom and dad, rather than your husband. This will give him that stooge/stepchild feeling of useless stupidity that is, FYI, a great alienating agent.

Also, does your husband need a job and does your dad own a business? What a great opportunity! Get your dad and his company to hire your husband. This will eventually require your husband to obey you at all times, because now he owes his monetary butt to you and daddy.

Lastly, do not under any circumstance attempt to work out your marital problems between just you and your man. Rather, get your angry sisters, your lard butt brother and your mother who’s nuttier than a squirrel turd to weigh in. Once conflict occurs, surround him in a scrum of familial disapproval. If not stopped, this clustering of belligerent kin against your husband will eventually do in the marriage. Since your goal is to tear down your own house, you probably need to call mama right now and complain about something your husband’s done. If he hasn’t done anything negative lately, just dig up something he did in the past. Or put a little twist on something he did with good intentions and make it seem like it was done on purpose to ruin your life.

9. Never apologize. If, in the odd event you do something that hurts your husband, or . . . say the unlikely occasion arises where you were woefully and ridiculously wrong on an issue, never, I mean never, under any circumstance, apologize for anything.

Why should you say you’re sorry? You’re the Queen of Mean, the Belle of Bitterness and culpable for nothing. You’re not going to apologize because . . . uh . . . well, um . . . the wrong you did wasn’t entirely your fault. Hello. He knows that. You have low blood sugar. And on that day when you screwed up and made yourself look like an ass by wrongfully axe-grinding on your man, it was because you didn’t have your afternoon Butterfinger fix. As a matter of fact, your husband, yes, your husband (whom you had put in charge of stockpiling your Butterfinger reserves) let the coffers run dry. Which means (that’s right!), he is actually responsible for your demonic manifestation. Thus, it’s him, I tell you . . . it’s your husband who should apologize, dammit. You . . . apologize? Please.

Whether it’s low blood sugar, PMS, PBS, Global Warming, the vast ring wing conspiracy or Bill O’Reilly, you, the marital femme fatale, are fortunate to live in the 21st century. In this therapeutic age you are afforded excuses aplenty that will help you destroy your marriage by never owning or asking for forgiveness for your hellish behavior.

10. Look bugly (butt ugly). Women come in all shapes and sizes. The majority of men that I know (who love the testosterone, heterosexual, God-blessed fog in which they dwell) really like women. From Calista Flockhart to Queen Latifa, to them . . . it’s all good. That is, as long as the ladies take care of what the good Lord has given them. The successful marriages I’ve seen know and abide by this golden nugget: always look your best . . . to constantly attract and show respect for your mate. It also aids in not terrifying dogs and small children.

Staying attractive messes with your husband’s head. It makes him think, “holy guacamole” when he sees you. It makes him envision you while he’s at work or out of town. It makes the boys’ night out a little shorter—especially when you tell him, as he’s leaving the house, that you’ve got the outfit from the lower right-hand corner of page 96 of the Victoria Secret Spring catalogue waiting to be modeled for him if he’s home by 10pm.

However, since you’re focused on mucking up your marriage, you’ve got to look bugly. Here’s how it goes. Your husband’s getting a little belly, so why shouldn’t you match it? Or better yet, better it? You should blow off regular exercising, occasional tanning and wearing sexy perfumes. Don’t bleach that hair on your lip, don’t wash your greasy hair or follow current fashion; just plow on with your hellish couture . . . the over sized t-shirts, oily skin, stretch pants and that hair style you got from 1906 Sears catalogue. To heck with your husband (and the world) if he doesn’t like your looks. Your goal is to make him love you for who you are, not what you look like.

And with that, I’m done with “How Wives Can Ruin Their Marriage.” Go for it, ladies. Maybe, just maybe, you can take Elsa Lancaster’s old role in the upcoming Bride of Frankenstein remake. Work hard and keep your fingers crossed. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, eh? Don’t deviate from these principles, because if you do, you might end up with a happy marriage. Yecch.

One more thing: I’ve been asked by many people and talk show hosts if I’m going to do a series regarding how husbands can ruin their marriages. My answer: I’m not feeling it right now. There are plenty of books on Amazon.com that deal with that subject. And anyways, I think the boys have had their knuckles rapped for too long and for too much while the girls have been allowed to walk with impunity.

So . . . I wouldn’t look for anything from me anytime soon on that topic. When things, blame wise, balance out—and if I’m still alive and if the price is right and I’m not hunting or painting or vacationing with my family . . . or watching grass grow or re-reading the operational manual of the hinge or having my fingernails slowly removed by an angry sadistic midget with pliers—then and only then, I might write something which goes after the guys.

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About The Author
Doug Giles’ new book “If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going!" is now available. Ann Coulter says "Doug Giles is a substantive and funny tour de force for traditional values.” Doug’s talk show and video blog can be seen and heard at www.ClashRadio.com.
 
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No BS?
So you despise Doug, and all conservative men in general. Where in any of his listing of negative female behaviors is he advocating "burkas" or locking down and shutting up the women of the world? While many people object to Doug's writing style and language, you haven't identified a single one of his 10 points as illegitimate. I'm sure you or someone else could take an intelligent swipe or two at what he actually says; but your too focused on spewing bile at men; or at least men who "don't understand female rage;" meaning, I assume, those who don't bow meekly toward a wife or any female who chooses to act in any of the ways described in these columns. If you just want to outdo Rosie O'Donnell in the angry rant department, and actually confirm a lot of what Doug is saying, you're off to a great start for your "sisters."

You've got it!
Conservative guys like Douggie are the biggest hypocrites on the planet with their do as I say but don't do as I do attitude. Quite Frankly, it's Douggie's holier than thou personna that's really the last straw. It's a real turn off. No wonder we angry women are always saying "Not tonight dear, I have a headache!"

Rosie
....Also, why is it that you always throw Rosie O'Donnell in our faces every five minutes? SHE'S A LESBIAN, REMEMBER? Pleasing a guy is not exactly high on her plam pilot list of things to do.

no bs artist
AWWWWWW you are a FIRSTIE! LOL

Why are you so bitter? Doug is only ridiculing half of half the universe. I have seen these women in operation. They are the first ones to moan about how "Life is so unfair". Unless a woman chooses a real jerk, all it takes is a little kindness. That is really all Doug is talking about here. I guess it challenges some woman's inner feminist to be kind. If you really are as vicious and mean as you sound, I feel very sorry for you. I cannot imagine why anyone would consider kindness and good manners as being subservient.

Hmmm...
There are hits and misses with Giles's columns, and this is in the latter category, mostly pushed there by the "look good" section. It's one thing to say "Make an effort and do your best," which he starts with but then goes way beyond. Honestly, a guy who's going to go nutty because his wife doesn't look like she spends all day in the gym and smell like her disposable income all goes to Chanel is not a guy who's really worth trying to keep.

I agree
As a pastor's wife, my husband and I do a lot of marital and premarital mentoring. We focus primarily on biblical principles, but we also try to guide with practical tools. Mr. Giles top ten list is almost verbatim, softened appropriately, the advice that I give the young women. Most can be backed up biblically. My husband, of course, has his own set that he hits the men with. The behaviors that he mentions, if we are honest ladies, are ones that as women we are particularly prone to fall into. Men have their own negative tendencies, but that is not the subject of this article. In my opinion if we cannot take a little constructive criticism without having a meltdown we have become that which we are imagining Mr. Giles may be labeling us.

Dumb me, I thought it was funny
How was this column an attack on women? He ridicules people who complain about their relationships but do everything they can to undermine and subvert them. Hatred itself for any reason is a corrosive emotion. If you want an early heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes, or autoimmune disease, hatred is right up there with causes of stress. The lib. blogs are congested with hatred of Bush, hatred of Reps., hatred of conservatives. It's amazing they have enough energy left to file their "thoughts,"? for the life-sucking hatreds. That's what Doug is saying. Hateful actions are destructive and lead to the death of love and marriages.

clarification
Mr. Giles top ten list is almost verbatim the advice I give young women NOT to do.

This is like the book
What women do to mess up their lives and the three columns were addressed to women. Only to women.

I believe Giles already did a set directed to men.

But "Douggie's drivel" brought a man hater out of the closet faster than turning on a light.

Doug Giles scored a direct hit, 10-ring bullseye.

Men are not Ken dolls
Doug's points he goes to the extreme with them are legit. As I have said earlier its been a while since I visited my folks and my sister in my hometown. I do not like being carefully placed in a setting and told what to wear how to act and how to feel. The woman Doug describes treats her man like a Ken doll. He loses his humanity and becomes the play thing of a brat.

Sexuality for manipulation of behavior has been interperted as witch craft. I find it funny Britney Spear's falling out with Kfed. Britney was all about using sex as a tool to manipulate and control men like Ken dolls. Cutting off sex is a tool in this respect.

In one posting I referenced Shawn Colvin's "Arms of Angel" that woman oozees sexuality in that song the woman is far from a damsel in distress she is far from weak. She is though the anthesis to the woman Doug describes. This woman will be more then respected by a man. The times he comes into her safe harbor will be reasons this man adores her and will tell the world about her how great she is. Putting the toilet seat back down and cleaning the commode will not be a chore but a delight for a man who has such a woman. This woman should not be surprised if word gets back to her that all her man does is talk about what a wonderful wife she is.

I do not deny that it is a two way street. The question is will women accept that men are more then just Ken dolls to be manipulated and are individuals to learn from as they themsleves learn from their wives particualarly in a CHristian relatioship where the partner who loves Lord as much becomes a tool of Lord to further make each part of the relationship more like their Lord.

animalgirl
"Wife nagging you? Well, are you a slob? Is she nagging you because you won't carry your weight around the house without being reminded like a child? If you take care of things, your wife won't have anything to nag about."

A NORMAL wife won't have anything to nag about... but for once, you made a really good point, and thanks for the tip.

bs artist
Palm actually made a special version for Rosie called the HoofPilot.

bs artist
In your first comment, as well as ones on prior articles, you make an error called the Fundamental Attribution Error. Don't feel bad though; it's a fundamental error: everyone makes it.

The Fundamental Attribution Error describes the opposite assumptions made inferring the causes of self behavior on the one hand, and the behavior of others on the other hand.

When thinking about yourself, you will tend to attribute external causes to your own failures and internal causes to your own successes.

When thinking about others, you will tend to attribute external causes to their successes, and internal causes to their failures.

Hence you say that Pastor Giles writes this article (his behavior) out of a fear of women (an internal cause to what perceive to be a failure on Doug's part).

However, the cause of Doug writing this article could be external to him, namely, that he has experience as a Pastor and marriage counselor dealing with these personality types.

Also, your own behavior - your apparent man-hatred - you attribute to men being deserving of it due to their weakness or whatever - an external cause for your behavioral fault. But it could just as well be that there is an internal cause for this fault, and it being the possibility to which you are blinded by the FAE, it should be the contingency that you most searchingly examine.

goes both ways
Maybe having the perfectly cleaned house is not so important? Maybe out of consideration to the wife the husband should do more? Instead of one or the other a middle ground.

My mother's older sister by her own admission took years to lighten up. Before then her floor as cleaner then most people's dishes.

Guys should care about their appearance and how the bathroom looks etc.

There is a point though when does running the mouth accomplish anything?

How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage
What was the object of the exercise (writing the article)? This article does not belong in Townhall.

Thank God I'm Single!
Amen.

And a happy Easter to all of my fellow bloggers.

Most American Women
are just divorces waiting to happen because they are inculcated with so much drivel from their mothers from the time they are born to only seek out wealthy men and to dog men in general just asthe Liberal media encourages them to do. Anytime you listen to a commercial on tv or the radio, invariably there is always a man andwoman scenario with the man portrayed as a bumbling stupid idiot andthe woman portrayed as the brains he could not live without because of his pathetic incompetence and fecklessness. They have no earthly concept of what it means to actually RESPECT men in the biblical sense. Most American women wouldn't know a Bible if it hit them right between the eyes. Many never respected their own fathers; they just manipulated daddy for his wallet for their next shopping trip to the mall. Any woman raised and CORRUPTED in such an environment will only see men the same way shesees her father - as just another schmuck to play like a flute to get what she wants - but sadly she will never find what she really needs - TRUE LOVE FROM A MAN. Of course, the Liberal feminazi women's mags that are securing the Liberal women's vote and the subsequent ruinous downfall of America, have successfully convinced damn near every woman in America that she does not NEED a man for anything. How tragic for so many women that they will end their lives loveless and childless and played like a flute by the feminazis in the Liberal Democratic Party and actually think they have had a fulfilled life. Many will die and even go to Hell hating men all the way to the nursing home believing in the Liberal feminazi Gospel that has been drummed into their highly impressionable minds.

Aw-w-w-w
Sounds to me like someone's cranky - perhaps their own marriage isn't exactly cooking on all four burners.

Sorry, Dougie - maybe you can take your experiences and write the next self-help book - for women, of course.


Also
I read the post from Take Back the Government after writing my own - another litany of lame relationships, perhaps?

Maybe TBTG could co-author with Doug.

Moral of the Story
Guys: Don't be stupid: get yourselves a foreign bride - NOT AN AMERICAN ONE if you can help it. Try a Russian girl who has been raised in the Greek Orthodox tradition, but, and this is a big BUT, make sure she has already been here in the States first. Chances are highly likely that the Russian girl just used another poor American guy for a plane ticket to get here. She then divorced him naturally, so she could find a man she really likes once she is here. THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN! Don't be the poor unfortunate schmuck who pays for the Russian girl to come over here only to watch her divorce your butt in two or three months after she has her naturalization papers. Russian girls are still raised in the traditional sense. Many are drop-dead gorgeous, contrary to poular opinion. The Beatles knew what they were talking about when they sung "Back in the U.S.S.R.". They are how American women were before the late 60's when the Liberal feminazis in the Democratic party ruined them forever.

Bountyhunter20
Ditto. The more I read of Doug Giles, the happier I am that I never married.

I've done a lot of work on womens' shelters, and the central premise of most cases in which women have to flee and hide from abusive spouses is the demand the man has for "perfection." And the continual drumbeat that if she were "only a better wife to me" he would not have to beat her up.

Thank you, Doug, for proving my point for me: in the minds of some over-controlling perfectionist men, there is no way any woman can ever measure up -- she can never be beautiful enough, neat enough, willing enough, acrobatic enough, or productive enough to please him...and if he beats her continually to the point of death, well, that's because she just can't measure up.

It's always her fault. It's ALL her fault. And that's why the Koran gives him the right to beat her for her "disobedience."

Doug, you'd make a great Muslim. I'd suggest you convert right away. The Taliban are holding your seat for you.

THE ATTITUDE OF WOMEN
I AM 64 YEARS OLD AND THE SINGLE LARGEST SOCIAL CHANGE I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFETIME HAS BEEN THE ATTITUED OF WOMEN. MY MOTHER AND MOST ALL HER SISTERS BACK 50 YEARS AGO WOULD STAND BY THE OLE MAN REGARDLESS OF WHAT HE DID. AND HE MOST OFTEN DID A LOT. (MY PARENTS WERE THE EXCEPTION THEY LOVED AND VALUED EACH OTHER VERY MUCH) THE WOMEN THEN DID NOT WORK, AND MANY DID NOT DRIVE, AND THEY WERE THE GLUE THAT HELD THE FAMILY TOGETHER. IF THE MAN DID NOT GO TO WORSHIP THE WIFE TOOK THE KIDS. AFTER WW2, THE LADIES WENT TO WORK, THEN CAME THE 60S AND EVERYONE WENT A LITTLE NUTS. WOMEN WERE TOLD THEY COULD BE JUST LIKE MEN (?) AND SO THEY ARE. THEY BEGAN TO SMOKE, DRINK, CUSS, HAVE AFFAIRS, AND GO TO JAIL JUST LIKE MEN. WHILE IN THE 40-50S AND 60S THE LADIES HELD THE FAMILY TOGETHER, TODAY MANY WISH TO RULE, OR THEY ARE OUT THE DOOR. THE BIBLE IS PRETTY CLEAR ON HOW TO KEEP A MARRIAGE TOGETHER. THE MAN IS THE SPIRITUAL LEADER OF THE HOME, BUT ITS AN EQUAL PARTNERSHIP, GUIDED WITH LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER.

To be fair,
Mr. Giles may have written similar advice to men before I started reading TH. The problem I have with these series of articles is that it seems to assume that most women are prone to killing their marriages. Its sarcastic tone does nothing to encourage anyone who doesn't already hate herself to follow the recommended un-steps.

I'm a strong woman. I know what I want and I work hard to get it. I state my needs with clarity. I'm not afraid to try new things. Odd thing is, my husband is an equally strong man, yet he thinks I'm the best thing since sliced bread.

You see, along with *real* strength comes the ability to compromise, apologize, and focus on the needs of others. This is not a gender-specific set of activities. The reason my husband and I are so crazy about each other is that we *both* defer to one another. Read the following and see if either one is limited to the male or female side of a typical marriage.


Real strength can put its own needs aside in favor of meeting the needs of one it loves.

Real strength can say, "No, sorry," without coming across like, "What were you thinking?"

Real strength admits when it is wrong, sometimes even while it still thinks it's right.

Real strength looks at the life of the other person and wonders, "How does he / she do all of that?"

Real strength looks at itself and asks, "What can I do to improve this relationship?"

Real strength...

You get the idea.

Back in the day when my husband and I believed that the husband was the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, he explained his belief about that to me, thusly:

"I think that being the head means that I bear the greatest responsibility for the quality of our relationship. I, more than you, need to look at what I need to change when things aren't going smoothly between us. Being the head doesn't mean that you obey me. It means that I'm your servant."

I'm betting that any woman reading this is thinking, "If my husband was like that, I could do anything for him." Well, guess what? That's exactly how it is for me. After more than 25 years, the last thing I want to do is nag him, criticize him, disparage him in public, or cut him off. I still absolutely adore him.

I think Mr. Giles could learn a lot from hanging around my husband.

Sign me one lucky woman, married to one lucky man,
Martha

Doug Giles
As a very conservative Christian, I find Doug Giles writings offensive and particularly this one. He does not belong on Town Hall and only diminishes the value of this website. He also does damage to either conservative Christians or the politically conservative.

AudiR10
Come on, Audi. Nowhere is Doug advocating a man beating his wife!! You're being a bit ridiculous.
He's not talking about creating a "perfect" wife. He's talking about wives acting like grown ups, not spoiled children, and showing some respect for their husbands. I've read most of Doug's columns and he shows great respect for women and I feel confident that he is a guy who would die to protect his wife and daughters.

Greatest Column Ever
This Doug Giles column deserves to be printed, framed and hung up in every household in the USA. It is a classic and is correct in each and every aspect of human relations.

Helen Louise
I repectfully disagree. If you read Doug's columns regularly you will understand his sense of humor and sarcasm. He injects some much needed testosterone into his male readers and implores the ladies reading to be just that--ladies!! How is that unchristian or damaging to conservatives???

WOMEN AND MEN----------
I write this as a single Dad of 3 teens. Men are really very simple creatures. We require so little. We are the cavemen from the Geico commercial. Cant you girls just give your guy a pat on the back? Maybe a peck on the cheek as you say "Love you?"Thankfully the Ice Queen is history. I have been with Christina 18 months now and the Ice Queen still has me scared to commit. Talk about feminizing your man! LOL! All we really need , beyond sex [which is a given]is just a touch of appreciation.

Take Back the Government
You are absolutely right about the majority of women being ignorant about what the bible says about marriage. They just accept hook, line and sinker that the bible wants women to be submissive doormats. What a crock!! Find a man that lives what the bible teaches and you will have the marriage you dreamed of, but only if you are willing to do the same.
The serious error most women make is to only behave loving and kind toward the husband AFTER the husband has acted a certain way toward them.You need to act with love even if he's made you angry that day. Then you are in a better position to calmly, respectfully discuss the problem at hand. It is hard to rant and rave and say hateful things to someone after you've acting in love toward them. I didn't realize this myself until after I became a Christian.

martha
Truly----you speak the truth.

Martha
I think that Doug is pointing toward women destroying their marriages because this seems to be the trend. We are seeing the fruits of the feminist revolution and it isn't pretty. It has not made men better, it has made women worse.
What you have described is a model of a Christian marriage. Unfortunately, the readers Doug is trying to persuade are biblically ignorant and many do not possess sound, logical thinking (read comments from "no bs artist" above
as an example). Doug's style is not for everyone, maybe just for those of us who like to laugh and those who need to be hit over the head to knock some sense into them.

Need the other side
I am very disappointed in your articles on marriage. It was very one sided and for us men that have daughters that are being mistreated by their husbands, I would not want my son-in-laws reading this.

Why do women become these terrible creatures that you talk about? Maybe it is because the man does not appreciate God's gift to man.

my responses...
to jamie:
a humble "thank you!"

to momof5girls:
Thanks, I do appreciate your kind way of putting it...but I have to respectfully say that I think I already knew what he was trying to do. I *love* great humor, but I don't think Giles' comes close.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that men and women have been pointing the finger at each other for...ever?...and it doesn't seem to do any good. I was trying to offer a perspective that had the same goal, with a fundamentally different approach. Since Giles is male, I think his words of advice don't have the intended impact. Neither do I think that words from ultra-submissive women do the trick for the average American woman. (I'm not saying that you're one of those, momof5!)

I'm also a teacher, and one with exceptional behavior management skills. My secret is to catch kids doing the right thing, instead of waiting for the negative behavior to catch my attention, e.g., rather than saying, "Oh, you forgot to..." I say, "Wow, you remembered to..." (And yes, you still have to have consequences -- but surprisingly few.)

My husband and I do the same thing, only more realistically, with adult respect, and not to manipulate behavior. We notice what's right. It's that simple. We appreciate life and each other. It has a wonderful snowball effect.

Furthermore, I think it's significant that my husband clearly pointed out that "head" didn't mean that he got to tell me what to do, and that I'd better obey. It's a matter of treating each other like adults *and* acting like adults. It's not the man who does the right thing first, and it's not the woman who does the right thing first. It's whoever's standing in your own shoes. Period.

It's just my opinion. Take from it what you will. But I respectfully suggest that, while people may sometimes respond to being hit over the head, they usually respond *best* to being treated like adults. I also respectfully suggest that the decline of marriage is due to something other than the feminist movement. I've become rather tired of the caricature of "the feminazi" so often painted on TH. The blame game is ineffective. Like almost everything, there are good and bad aspects of the feminist movement.

All the best to all of you and to your relationships!

Martha

Hmmm...may I add a sentence or two?
Start with...

Like everything, there are good and bad aspects of the feminist movement. The responsibility for success or failure of marriage does not lie at the feet of feminism, or the government, or religion. It is squarely in the hands of individual men and women.

Sorry. I'm a compulsive editor. :)

Done, now!

Martha

animalgirlisback
Your posts really prove Doug's points.

Great book called ...
"Love and Respect" by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs (ISBN 1-59145-187-6). My men's small group, whose purpose is to build strong marriages, went through this book about a year ago. In it, Dr. Eggerichs gave voice to something that I somehow always knew yet could never quite put my finger on.

We, those in the church have been preaching to husbands about unconditional love for our wives since the dawn of Christianity. Yet one of the most overlooked principle taught in Ephesians 5 is the unconditional RESPECT that wives are to give to their husbands. Somehow, we've come to believe that the respect husbands are supposed to receive has to be earned.

What it boils down to is this: A womans most basic need is to be loved, so God commands husbands to give it unconditionally. A mans most basic need is respect (no, I haven't forgotten sex), and wives are commanded to give it unconditionally.

A note to the Biblically illiterate: While the Bible does teach that the husband is the head of the wife and is to "obey" him, the Bible does not say that my wife is to be subserviant to ALL men. It may sound to the unknowing, and even to the brow-beaten Christian woman who's husband is a Neanderthal, that women have a bad deal here. But I submit to you the extraordinary responsibility that is placed on men. I'm not looking for any type of honor or medals here, just to point out reality. If something goes wrong in my family, I am accountable before God, not my wife. I am called to love my wife as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for it. THAT is sacrificial love of the highest magnitude and it is commanded of husbands, not wives.

As Inigo Montoya said, "To sum up..." husbands and wives must fulfill their respective roles in marriage if it is to last. Next Saturday will be my 23rd wedding anniversary. I surely haven't done everything right, but I've given and received both grace and forgiveness. This summer we will travel to Israel. We will be baptized in the Jordan River and renew our wedding vows. I am the luckiest man alive!

ElizabethBennet
You are so correct.

The blame-throwing has been going on fo
"Genisis 3:12

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

The blame-throwing has been going on forever.

That being said, Pastor Wiles should really watch out, I think my ex-wife might sue him for using her persona if she reads this. I think she hit every point he made.

Personally I love tongue-in-cheek humor like this, if for no other reason that it MAY make a few people think about their own situations.

I see that this is lost on a lot of people here.


Communicating?
animalgirlisback writes:
"...openly communicating is the best way to accomplish something in a relationship".

So what's her advice to us sexually incompetent males? Go find a book. Instead of communicating to her mate what trips her trigger, she pouts and blames him. What should be a mutually rewarding adventure becomes his responsibility. Who's the sexual object in this sort of relationship?
She won't let him know what's wrong either. She will instead tell her mother and all of her friends what a lousy lover he is. That's what communication means to a "woman from hell".
Can you imagine animalgirl's reaction if Doug had suggested a manual for women on how to sexually please a man?

My first marriage failed at 34 years...
and I was the reason why. I then met a women who believes in love, doesn't make sexist jokes, keeps herself nice, is interested in what I do, loves sex, loves animals (to include me), can't cook, is an artist, wants to grow plants, always ready to go for a walk while holding hands, is proud of me, is interested in what I do and shows it, and I discovered that maybe I wasn't totally the reason why. Life is a compromise and so is marriage. When negotiations come to a halt, the "deal" is usually over. Remember another thing, marriage is a contract, which can be negotiated and renegotiated, to suit the participants. However, if one party insists on being "nutty as a squirrel turd" (I don't care who you are, that's a funny metaphor), the ship takes on water and soon sinks!

How to Ruin a Marriage
Heaven: A Japanese wife, a British housekeeper and an American cook.

Hell: A British cook, a Japanese housekeeper and an American wife.

Men are so easy to please: Good food, frequent sex, a clean house and respect. Any woman who cannot please her man simply does not want to.

Why do husband dies before their wives? Because they want to.

How to Run a Marriage
Oops...should have read, "why do husbands die before their wives?"

Insights into a very recent phenomenon.
This article offers real insights into a very recent and very un-natural phenomenon in our culture: feminism like all the other –isms is a bad thing that produced only misery and disillusionment for its adherents since its inception.

The male female dichotomy is best expressed in the witticism: Life is tragedy to those who feel (females) and a comedy to those who think (males).

I noticed that some of juvenile snipes at Mr. Giles article are based on the idea that most men are afraid of women. This is both untrue and funnier than these people mean to be because the feminism’s primary rationale and strategy seeks the reduction of the influence of masculinity in society by removing them from the center of our culture and the development of children while exalting the feminine in all realms. Feminism spent enormous capital on denigrating and subordinating what is most natural, best and truest in the feminine psyche- i.e. empathy, steadfastness, compassion and loving care for their children and their development. These feminine attributes are complementary to the Male’s requirement in enrich, develop and protect a family. It is simple biological determinism and the by product of 6 billion year of evolution and the leading indicator of poverty is the existence of single mother.

Culturally, feminist are the same people who decry the use of any form of unnatural preservative, chemical or technological innovation in their food and drink while they routinely ingest drugs and medical procedures that disrupt and attempt to completely subvert the natural process of reproduction.

Most females in corporate America enjoy the fantasy world where they can pretend that they can run and compete with the big dogs but only as long as the dogs are neutered and tamed but the delicate flowers crater and cry when the logic of testosterone kicks in. It is no wonder or surprise that Male dominated societies are eating our lunch in economic development while “liberated” women look to the state as their ultimate sugar daddy.

It is all very sad.


How to ruin a relationship
Fascinating. In my 56 years as a man I have come to the conclusion that male-female relationships can be compared to World War I by analogy. They expend great amounts of energy, finances, propaganda, material, personnel and all for so little gain. A clean bathroom, a yard, an emptied trash can. I have had several relationships with women. The worst was with a liberal, daughter of a professor. I was a Ph.D. candidate. She used every emotional blackmail method to turn my pursuit of Ph.D. into a horror show. Why do you need to study in Germany why can't we go to the Greek Islands? Because I'm majoring in German History. Why do you need a Ph.D. anyway. She got the call strike three. Since then the strike zone has expanded off the plate somewhat. My house is the way I want it.
But I met a fascinating woman last year. And she kept commenting about how nice I treated her. And I wondered who were these other guys who didn't treat her very nice. But I listened to what she said, discouraging words about writing, and raising the bar of good behavior to the level of impossibility. So I let it die. I was at war with women for years from about 1993 until 2005. I wanted to make peace so I asked two women friends over for dinner. I told them I wanted to make peace and ask their forgiveness. And so they came, we made peace, they forgave me and we prayed. There is a saying in German: Lass dass. Or let it lay, just let it go. It might help immensely in male-female relationships if sometimes we just let it lay.
Dr. K.

Accuracy
You described my EX-wife to a tee.

TO MOMOF5GIRLS
Right on...more ladies and men need to read carefully what the bible says about being submissive. Men and women just have different but equal roles in marriage. When this scripture was written the women were not much more than something the husband owned. (like it still is in the middle east today) In the early church the women were not allowed to sit with the men, and naturally they had questions. So Paul and Peter advised them to just hold them and let the husband inform them at home. This avoided confusion and unnecessary disruption of the worship services..The husband has the responsibility as the spiritual leader of the home. He is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. Thats pretty simple, get rid of pride, and understand the roles of both people in the marriage, and it solves a lot of problems...

Men are scum
I’m going to give away my age. I vividly remember the day at my fraternity house in college when we invited a bunch of girls to the house for a mixer. Instead of mingling with boys, all the girls gathered around the piano and sang Helen Reddy’s newly released “I am woman, hear me roar.” It did not turn out to be much of a mixer. The whole party was a demonstration of female autonomy. They spent the entire party making fun of grandma wasting her time in the kitchen cooking a meal for the family and the stupidity of their career-less mothers staying home to raise the kids. After all, that’s what daycare is for. It was indeed a very sad day, and I have never forgotten it.

Men, take my advice. Get a Labrador retriever, or maybe two. Vet bills are much cheaper than alimony!

I hate this guy
There isn't an item he's mentioned that also couldn't be applied to a husband's treatment of his wife. Go away, Doug!

????
Ok, first off all, I'm laughing at all of you people that are getting so worked up about this column! I, personally, was taking notes, because I want my marriage someday to make it into the "till death do us part" category, not the "he still owes me alimony" category.
I can safely say that I have a few feminist leanings, which I acknowledge that I received when my parents divoroced. However, even though I'm a college student, and I'm receiving a good education, do you know what I'm looking forward to? Hopefully getting my Ph.D someday will be marvelous, and I would love to be a published author, but I find myself looking forward to having my own home the most. I want to be a good wife for my someday husband, I want to keep my house clean and serve good meals. So even though a lot of those girls out there are bemoaning their grandmother's lives...I think they sound pretty nice a lot of the time. Will I vaccuum in pearls? No. But all you guys out there-keep looking. There are those of us out there that want a nice guy to take care of and have a real partnership with, but while you're getting the golden retrievers, we're buying cats, because we can't find you either.

how to ruin a marriage
This is one of the funniest series I have read anywhere. The feminists must have a gene that causes them to be unable to learn how to read, but they sure can rant!

What will be remembered
And when your beloved is gone, what will be remembered? What will you find in the archive of remembrance? We cleaned the bathroom. He emptied the trash. Do that which you do so well, Mr. Fill in the Blank; empty the trash. What tender moments are cataloged, of bucket in hand and scrub brush at the ready. Remember that because you belittled him for being a slob. Better to live like a slob in hell than to serve with scrub brush in heaven.

And what dirt may lie upon yon window pane? Tis neither Juliet nor the sun, but dust that obscures and challenges true love. Then, let us, er, you wipe it away, til eternity comes and dust will away and love triumphs not over Mr. Clean.

And thus your days are numbered by table and graph to the day of passing. And those who, without dreams themselves, calculate the numbered days will themselves arrive at that number.

Your remaining days shall be spent alone with the thoughts of deeds undone, of dirt wiped clean, and things well ordered, and accounted for, and quietly pad through the museum of life and not feel the love that waits in your heart.

But only hold fast to bitterness and view point, regardless of hurt and anguish. Do not feel for it may touch you in the heart. And faith only comes from deeds undone and the continuous bitterness that salves the cold, hard, heart.

But extend the warm hand to touch another. It may surpise you that there is still warmth in the world, and not just a clean counter top.

Dr. K

Sadly Right
I believe that for the vast majority of men, their greatest desire is to have sex with their wife! I love Dr James Dodson as I believe he has been a true visionary prophet with regard to the importance of family. However his early teaching in christian circles about how women should be treated if a husband wanted sex , created in these women a sense of entitlement ,and if a husband didn't meet that high standard, she didn't need to give it up. The idea of having sex with your husband could redeem him or lift him up wasn't taught. Sometimes when life gets me down I can't climb to the top of the tree to pick the fruit. Sometimes I can't even pick low hanging fruit. There are times when I need her to bring me that fruit to sustain me.

Helen Louise writes:
As a very conservative Christian, I find Doug Giles writings offensive and particularly this one. He does not belong on Town Hall and only diminishes the value of this website. He also does damage to either conservative Christians or the politically conservative.

------------------------------------------------

You are entitled to find them offensive, but to say he does not belong on Town Hall is suggesting a form of censorship.

The whole point of free speach is sometimes we have to put up with speach we find offensive in order to have the free speach we support.

Christopher Parisho...Free Speech...
...is not the freedom to be published by anyone and everyone. Helen Louise, I suspect, is commenting on the both the offensivenss and quality of Giles' writing, which I would agree is fair to poor. I read it out of curiosity and posted (much earlier) in hopes of floating a more positive viewpoint on men and women. Otherwise, I consider his writing to be quite amateur. As such, it does not deserve a place on Town Hall. Helen Louise's opinion and mine and quite a few others, I suspect.

Please feel free to correct me if I assumed wrongly, Helen Louise.

It has nothing to do with whether I agree with the man. I actually feel sadness about the state of the average American marriage as well. I just think I, as a true amateur, could do a better and more effective job of writing about it. Getting some amens and rigtheous anger doesn't qualify writing as worthwhile.

Censorship is done by the government, not by private enterprises. If that were the case, I could cry foul that TownHall doesn't publish more feminists or pro-choice writers.

Cheers To the First Amendment,
Martha

Anti-Male Drivel
The canard that it is men who keep women "pregnant and barefoot" is belied by the fact that SINGLE MEN are the group most in favor of legal abortions duh. (check any survey)
As for being a "single man." I feel lucky every day I am still one.
I wish a woman could spend about five minutes inside a man's body and see how long she could withstand the temptations that women throw at us every day. No wonder men are on a "marriage strike." As long as they are on their backs-the meter is running.

What I meant by running of the mouth
Constant nagging any manager male or female will tell you loses its effect. It is like a steady racket to be ignored drowned out

NOw in regaurds to kissing a woman that is when I hear the words "You may kiss the bride" I do not hate all women. I actually do not hate my mom my sister or my niece I love them from an emtionally safe distance! You say the kiss will change all my feelings...once again sexual manipulation of men.

I do not hate women. A female classmate was as friend when the Ronnie Jo Neil punishmnet verdict came out. She pointed to the memory of a classmate who was raped and murdered June 1993. Cari's memory has convicted and directed and is a real powerful force long after the events of that summer night. I have asked many a person to pray for James Lee Clark....Cari would have wanted it that way. Cari was a warm face dear friend when I first moved to Denton. I owe her no less. As I ask others to pray for the salvation of James Lee Clark fervently to 6pm CST Wednesday April 11.


animalgirlisback
Sorry that you married a control freak. I have no list for my wife and I probably clean up the house more that she does. On the other hand she did an excellent job with putting a rose garden in the front yard. There have been plenty of books about what's wrong with men. Doug is just trying to clue in the females that they are not perfect either.

Hound Dog
The feminists of our generation were intent on making themselves unhappy and most of them succeeded at it quite well.

greenguy
You creatively mix metaphor.

HELL IS
A place where the French are the engineers, The English are the cooks, the Germans are the police and the Italians run the military

Hound Dog
I'm so sorry you feel that way about women. We're not all that way, believe me. And I'd bet that some of those gals regret their immature foolishness; thirty-plus years of living in the real world can change a lot. I remember that Helen Reddy song, I was 13 when it came out-the best thing I can say about it is that she is largely forgotten today. I'm a homemaker and part-time student, and I can tell you that as a wife the hardest thing about being home is NOT the day-to-day stuff with the kids. It IS the new outfit, haircut, deep-clean of the family room, new perfume, new recipe at dinner, effort at Christmastime, paying the bills on time, etc. etc. going unnoticed/unappreciated. We're not asking for a constant stream of compliments, and we know your neglect isn't a deliberate thing, but honestly, guys, you being aware of our existence and efforts on some level beyond mere mechanics is so important-my husband had to learn this the hard way. Of course I learned a lot too but it was humbling for both of us to understand that no marriage can coast on autopilot (him), or is helped by whining and poor me-ing (me). We're still working on it, and are stronger for it.

If you want constant gratitude you probably should just get a dog, but you can't truly love by refusing to take the risk.

None
I heard it thus:

Heaven is a place with French chefs, German mechanics, English policemen, Italian lovers, all organized by the Swiss, and

Hell is a place with French mechanics, English chefs, German policemen, Swiss lovers, all organized by the Italians.

FROG writes: Sunday, April, 08, 2007 9:4

Great Posting !

My wife and I learned the hard way, through many nights arguing instead of sleeping, that God had it right and the roles of the husband and wife are fairly clearly described in the Bible.

It wasn't until we turned to the Bible, together, that we were able to overcome the obstacles we daily had to deal with. I had to change many things about how I dealt with her, she only had to change one; respect.

We just celebrated 24 years, God willing, we will have 24 more !

animalgirlisback
So, all a woman needs to do is show up, huh. Yeah, I know the type.
You go, animalgirl.

Methinks thou doth protest to much!
The rancor that several critics have spewed here sounds more like guilt than a true critique.

I've read the article a few times and cannot find the line in which Doug states that he is describing all women. Yet many have called Doug a woman hating homosexual because not all women are like this.

You remind me of my students who have to say "I wasn't talking," when I ask them to be quiet. All I want is a "yes sir." No accusation was made. Doug is merely pointing out things that can wreck a marriage, not making accusations against all women.

As for this being "good" enough for Townhall, taste is all a matter of opinion.

A typical reader critic could easily say that Roger Schlesinger doesn't belong on Townhall because he writes so poorly.....but such a critic would only be revealing his or her own shortcomings. Roger writes at a level beyond the average reader and thus is not accessible to the masses.

His subject matter is still appropriate for Townhall. Doug has chosen to write on a low crass level which he felt made the emphasis and message of his article series accessible to masses. His subject matter, saving marriages, is a conservative cornerstone thus making his articles appropriate for Townhall.

The Constitution of the United States does not guarantee anyone the right to never be offended. That is what Free Speech is all about. Judge Doug not by how he says it but by what he is truly saying under his satirical style.

Martha... Free Speech;
Free speech is the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. Censorship is exactly what Helen was calling for.

Censorship is the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. Not just governments, but “a controlling group or body”.

While a government may be the most likely controlling group or body to engage in censorship, it is not the ONLY controlling group or body which can do so. Some religions do it and a private enterprise can censor people if that private enterprise controls the form of communication. In this case the group or body which manages and moderates Town Hall, a public opinion site, are who Helen was calling on to censor Doug.

I'm tired of the MOB calling for the voices of others to be censored because the MOB feels that voice is not the best voice or that the opinions/ideas expressed by that voice somehow offend someone. Both the left and right are guilty of calling for the censor of voices which they do not agree with or find offensive.

Doug's writing style may not be the best, but that should and does not warrant calls for him to not be allowed to post articles on this site. If you find it offensive, or just lacking in worth, use the back button and select another article to read.

If you or anyone else feel they could do a better job, then do so rather than call for someone else's voice to be censored.

Part of what is causing the US to take a turn for the worse is the lack of tolerance and respect for our fellow citizens and the rights they have as citizens of the US. Of course we are going to favor the voices we agree with, but a true test of ones ability to tolerate others is when you can allow a voice to be heard who you do not agree with, and NOT call for it to be censored.

It's the machine that's broken

Martha, including your editing, you wrote:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I also respectfully suggest that the decline of marriage is due to something other than the feminist movement. I've become rather tired of the caricature of "the feminazi" so often painted on TH. The blame game is ineffective. Like almost everything, there are good and bad aspects of the feminist movement. The responsibility for success or failure of marriage does not lie at the feet of feminism, or the government, or religion. It is squarely in the hands of individual men and women."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Feminism (or as I like to call it, Female-ME-ism) has NO good aspects. It is all about angry, over privileged princesses making sure no tiny area remains where women don't get at least an equal share of whatever social or political goodies they perceive the Evil Patriarchy(tm) has denied them. There is never the slightest thought to those many areas where women have more than an equal share. The only way men appear on the feminist radar screen (if they appear at all) is as targets.

We know all about equal rights, but when was the last time you heard a feminist talk about equal duties? Do you know who does the vast majority of the dying to make this country great? You can hardly shake your ears clear of the whining over the "glass ceiling", but did you EVER hear of a feminist clamoring for equal access to the "pine box basement"?

And back on point, you are completely wrong about the decline of marriage as an institution being the fault of the individual men and women involved. Men and women as the raw material for society's machinery haven't changed in millennia. It's the machine that has broken down - and feminism is very much to blame. Society (i.e., that's us) has let feminism and other parasitic groups weaken marriage to the point where only the woman of exceptional character can resist the easy temptation to pull the trigger on divorce. This is not really the fault of women, but of all of us for letting things slide so far. The sad thing is that it is our children and our children's children who will be paying the price.

Think well - see clearly. :)

PS: I agree with you about the clumsy, adolescent quality of DG's writing. His writing reads about as painfully as watching a bull in a china shop. I don't like to witness wholesale destruction, whether it be fine porcelain or what should be fine prose. But otherwise neglected subjects often hit Mr. Giles' "bull's eye" and his hard charging style often busts clean through all PC boundaries to drive home a much needed point (suspect that's why they keep him).

His Needs Her Needs
The women in my class, 25 couples or so, were absoluetly venomous the session about sex being mens number 1 need. One women actually said something to the effect of, "well all these other needs are fine and I see how they lead to a great relationship, I mean all the open communication needed etc., but the sex thing, no way I can do that, no way I can be expected to fully meet that need unless I need it too".
Strange how she praised the communicative aspects of the other 9 needs not even realizing her obvious selfishness...communication was the number one need of the gals/tied w/ affection.
Evangelical feminism is insidious, and the person above who found Dobson culpable was spot on.
Dr Laura has it right....women get over yourselves and get under your husbands. Giles is also right, men are that simple. Learn it gals, there is power in it.
Funny women always say not all women are like that, meanwhile I bet if you asked the husbands of those defensive gals you'd get a different story. Women confuse occasional hot sex that meets THEIR needs to be meetin g his needs.

You all are amusing
All of this He-She nonsense is really amazing. Are you really trying to debate whether men are women are wholly responsible for the downfall of all marriages? Come on! What I loved about Doug's article was this: his sarcastic / satirical tone keeps him from placing blame. The object of his satire are women that are intentionally trying to ruin their marriages by sabotaging their relationships. He is not addressing all women, and he is not addressing all relationships. There is some truth in the 10 behaviors that Doug lays out, and the reality is that if some woman really WANTED to immasculate their man and drive him to another woman or a divorce, these 10 behaviors would be a GREAT place to start. If you are NOT trying to immasculate your man, then these 10 behaviors are good to avoid. What's so hard about that? What's so devisive about that? None of you that are so critical of Doug are taking the article at face value, you are all making judgments concerning what you infer from the article, or what you perceive that Doug is REALLY saying.
My take is this: bad relationships are a cycle of bad behavior, and somebody needs to break the cycle to correct the behavior to make the relationship better. Wives: are you cutting your husbands off sexually because they neglect you? Husbands: are you neglecting your wives because they cut you off sexually? Somebody has to give! I think Doug's list lays out those behaviors that wives participate in that can start the cycle, or they can be used to continue the cycle. There is another list a mile long for men. If you are mad at Doug for not talking about men then you are really asking him to write a book instead of an article.

It's a Two Way Street
I'm a divorced female, and thanks to my exhusband deciding to have a self-gratifying sexual relationship with himself and leaving me out of that equation...and also for the intrusive invasion of his entire family into my life, which gave me more say about how I ran my life just as much as the family dog---led to the death of our marriage.

Sure, I tried to communicate with my exhusband about our issues, and he would only shrug and say "I-o-no?" Naturally, I came off as the nag.

No one is perfect people. There's a chance that sex with your spouse may not be what you had in mind, but if you manage to get it once in awhile, be happy and try to be pleasant enough to encourage it to be better without crushing egos.

No one can maintain beauty 24/7.....If I had to wear the lipstick and wear the high heals constantly to please my hubby, that is not the relationship I want to be in. I would prefer to see my man in jeans and a flannel shirt rather than a suit and gel in his hair.

Communicate? Sometimes listening is just as important as speaking.

Family? Everyone told me I'd be marrying his family, and they were right. Trust me you may like your own family, but really, your family is overrated. Sometimes holidays and events can be shared with greater memories if you leave the in-laws out of it. Try it.

I have a good sense of humor, but whatever satire was meant by this article went over my head. I just don't see the point of this article in the first place, but I felt I needed to respond.


Boils Down to Expectations
As a general rule, and I'm sure there are many exceptions:

Women get married hoping to change their men.

Men get married hoping their wives won't change.

All too often, both are disappointed.

Feminism's Good and Bad
In discussing the "good and bad aspects" of feminism, or whether there are any good aspects, we shouldn't forget that feminism has a long history.

Surely the following could be regarded as gains -- the Good Aspects:

1. Now, more than ever, women are regarded as individuals. We are NOT all the same, and therefore it's absurd to expect that we'll all want the same things. We're free to explore our individual nature, discover our gifts and talents and interests. If you doubt this is a good thing, consider: don't the teenage girls you know who have an ACTIVITY they're involved in -- sports, music, dance, art, theater, book club, etc. -- seem happier and more comfortable with themselves (as well as a darn sight smarter) than the teenage girls who waste their time at the malls and obsess over the doings of Paris and Britney? It's important to be good at something, and now, unlike two hundred years ago, we girls and women may claim a piece of the Accomplishment Pie.
(Another point: a woman who has some activities and interests of her own is LESS LIKELY to hate her husband's hobbies and friends. She won't be hanging about his neck like a leech, whining, "You don't pay any atteeeeention to meee!" Instead, she'll be a more supportive and more interesting companion and friend.)

2. Women can own property. (I'm a homeowner; I like that one.)

3. A smart, well-informed woman is not prevented from casting her vote simply because she is a woman. (I do admit, however, that it does no one any good when morons -- of either gender -- vote.)

4. When a woman makes traditional choices, those choices are hers. They are not imposed on her by society.

5. Women have access to education, that we may be trained and instructed as thinking, reasoning beings rather than be trained to perform a single function. A good education is as useful to a homemaker as to a corporate lawyer, and now, as opposed to two hundred years ago, our society is willing to acknowledge this.

Now for the BAD Aspects:

1. By its very nature, contemporary feminism depends on Groupthink and Collectivism.

2. Under contemporary feminist ideology, when a woman makes bad choices, she's not responsible for them; she's a Victim of Gender.

3. Through the confusion of Equality of Opportunity with Equality of Result, contemporary feminism suggests that women cannot succeed in a true meritocracy. I can't possibly be the only one who sees this as an insult.

4. Through linking promiscuity with "empowerment," contemporary feminism has contributed to the damaging hypersexualization of our society. It has actually encouraged girls to view themselves as sexual objects rather than as thinking individuals.

5. Contemporary feminism is fine with "choices," as long as you make ITS choices. Women who make traditional choices are therefore not exercising their freedom; instead, they're "sell-outs" who are "wasting their education."

These are just a few Goods and Bads.

well,
As soon as I read a column by Pastor Doug called "How Husbands Can Kill their Marriage" I will be able to take most of you a little more seriously.

But this is a conservative blog - I won't hold my breath waiting for THAT to happen.

The truth hurts!
I've read many comments on Doug's series. I didn't read any that refuted any point that he makes. My first wife indeed exhibited many of the traits described by Doug.

I don't think that Doug meant his articles to be satire or funny. His points are dead on. They have nothing to do with women's rights or feminism. They have to do with the way some women might destroy a relationship exhibiting certain behavior. They also have to do with what keeps relationships strong and what doesn't. If you want to know what keeps them strong, think of the exact opposite of what kills them.

I'm sure that a series of articles can be written about how men can destroy their marriage. I wouldn't be offended by that because I love my wife and don't disrespect her and I don't try to dominate or control her. Most of all, we have a great relationship because we don't keep secrets from each other.

It seems like Doug's points "hit home" with many women. Rather than being offended, maybe they should heed his advice.



Hard Thought
Your words are like a breath of fresh air. I have often spoken them myself. I, however, have a special reason for my sentiments.
My buddy John married a woman who rode motorcycles (her own) and camped out with him before they were married. She moved into his fix-er-upper and never thought to mention that she just assumed that would all end when they tied the knot. She sold her bike and demanded that they build a new house, he could no longer hang out with his friends, they had to visit her parents every Sunday (but never his parents). The list goes on and on.
He thought she loved him as he was; after all, he loved her just the way she was. But she apparently wanted the new improved John. He just wanted the Valerie that he married.
When she started running around on him (ironically with one of the friends he was not allowed to see!), my dear friend John couldn't take the rejection. He ended his own life.
God DAMN-IT
This is serious stuff people. Some hearts can't be fixed. It's a two way street. It's neither liberal or conservative. It's human.
Men are tough, right? Only women are abused, right? Let's move beyond that.
Your petty mind games don't mean a thing.
Say exactly what you mean and mean exactly what you say. A life may be at stake.


Doug Giles is crazy
No, he really is. I can't even begin to tell you how sick he is and I am aghast that anyone in his right mind would agree with him. Unless you're a woman over the age of 70, or a man looking for a woman with a lobotomy (because she shouldn't have a brain, or a thought for herself) than shame on you for even thinking twice about taking advice from Doug Giles.

Animalgirlisback
It is not censorship to have standards which writers have to abide by, and no Town Hall does not have to publish everything everyone writes. If you feel anyone is violating Town Hall standards then flag it and let Town Hall enforce their standards if they feel there are any violations.

Again I say if the article of insufficient quality for you, is offensive to you, or you just do not like the writer you as the reader can opt not to read the articles.

I have no knowledge of the plagiarism you accuse him of. If true then the person or persons he plagiarized have a legitimate reason to pursue him and have him punished for it.

All these arguments you make are distractions from the points I made about free speech and calls for censorship.

No more American girls.
Thats right you heard me and if you don't listen its your own fault

the flip side
okay i read this. i read "10 commandments for husbands". what do you do when you husband is guilty of all what wives are normally accused of: being argumentative, picking fights, and NO SEX. good sex goes a LONG way to compensating for all the other BS. and am i bugly? at 5'1" and 103 lbs, able to trade clothes with our teenage daughters (although i wouldn't, it's not appropriate) i don't think so.
it's not all or one. never is.

The point is good, the tone is bad
Mr. Giles makes some great points in this series regarding the negative consequences of typically female behavior in relationsips. And I agree the men have been dumped on for too long in the "who ruined the relationship" debate. However his tone leaves something to be desired.

I am sure he means to be funny, and if this were spoken aloud with the correct inflections and body language it would be hysterical--however the flaw with the written word is that there arn't any of those non-verbal cues as to intent. This means that if some misogynistic fool (there are many reading TownHall given previous comments I have read) wants to take you seriously and place unreasonable demands on his wife, while taking no responsibility for the relationship's health on himself, he can point to your words to support his actions. And you will have contributed to the overall misery of the world--hers during the marriage and his after the inevitable divorce, not to mention the ongoing problems if there are children involved.

Mr. Giles probably doesn't care about any of this, however I feel it is necessary to respect the power of words and point out when others are using that power irresponsibility.

compromise...?
I just read this article for the first time, and I'm trying to see where all the hostility is coming from? If this were a woman bashing men (as SO much mass media does nowadays), would the women's responses be so aggressive?

Now, before all the crosshairs train themselves upon me, I am a husband and father of four children. I do dishes, I wash laundry (given enough time between homework, dinner and baths I even fold and put it away), and am very active in their upbringing. I go to school in the day, so I can handle most of the household duties, and work at night. Anyone who says domestic duties are easy don't do them enough... Anyway - I'm getting off track - I still encounter the majority of the items touched (and joked) upon by Doug from my own wife. So how do you explain that? I must be messing things up somehow, right...?

I do believe that there IS a conspiracy in modern American society to destroy our family and relationship foundations in favor of the materialistic, self-absorbed "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" type of folks running around here, who seem only interested in instant gratification.

I respect my wife as a woman, wife, and mother. I show it and prove it to her as often as possible. But somedays, it seems like she's hell-bent on proving to the world that I've committed some heinous crime(s), and that I must be exposed and destroyed. And it usually occurs after she watches Oprah. Coincidence...? Maybe.

Bottom line, I think it's time to stop pointing fingers, ignore all the bullcrap being feed to us by mass media, and get back to relating to one another, based upon how we are treated on an individual basis - not some mob mentality saying the majority men or women are like "this," and that you better get them before they get you.

Let's get it together ya'll, before we kill ourselves off because our children will be so screwed up they won't want to procreate...
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