Flowers and bugs
Jul. 28th, 2014 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
My wife is one of those people who thinks there is clearly a weaker sex in humans. And, she is often willing to share her explanations on why males are the weaker gender with folks: that they are “special flowers” that must be cared for carefully.
The two new folks who showed up at practice yesterday are both young women. As my wife was working on sword techniques with them, the three males at practice yesterday sat down for a drink of water.
(You’ll notice I’m not saying she’s wrong…)
As my wife and these other two women kept working in the hot humid day, this conversation went on with the males at the table:
“What’s that on my book?” Jose shouted, jumping up.
“Some kind of bug,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“That’s a huge bug!” John said, also getting up. “I think it has a stinger.”
“Don’t let it get near me,” Jose said, backing farther away.
“Just put it outside,” I said. “I’m sure it will fly away.”
I started looking for something to use to flick it out the door while Jose and John hit at it with pieces of paper.
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“Just squish it,” she said.
“It has a stinger!” Jose replied.
(To be fair, it was a fairly big bug. About 1” or 2 1/2cm long.)
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When she raised the paper it was still moving about.
“That’s a tough bug,” I said.
She brought her thumb down on its head and killed it.
My wife came over.
“What is all this noise?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
“
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“You see?” she asked the new women. “This is what I mean.”
no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 07:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 08:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 10:50 am (UTC)Maybe it's because I live in rural Australia, we have tons of bugs here.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 12:48 pm (UTC)Well, I've met some women who are terrified of small things like mice and insects.
A friend from college [was] so terrified of spiders that if she saw one in her room at the college apartment, she would almost literally
tear the room apart, move furniture out into the hallway, and hunt the thing down to kill it. She could not function as a human until it
was dead, and usually dragged the rest of us (or especially her then-fiance now husband) into the hunt. All the while screaming her head
off and going into hysterics and crying fits, which got worse when the spider had crawled into the wall or some kind of hiding space.
There was at least one time where she couldn't find it, and refused to go back into her room for the remainder of the evening, and I think
it was about a day or two before she went back in.
I will admit, though, sometimes the female side is a little more bolder and gradual in the approach and removal or destruction of insects
where we guys seem to have a "fast" reaction and want a fast end to the encounter.
no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-07-29 08:04 pm (UTC)