A man's home is his castle, where the woman is a ...

 Take a look at the following funnies:

You see a pattern there?

Old man Earl is incapable of doing anything at home.

Haha.

Except, it is not funny.

For years, decades, I have been expressing concern, even worried, that young men and old men alike apparently think that they are babies who can't do anything on their own without their mama's or wife's help.    It is godawful. Pathetic.  This is, of course, way worse in the old country.  The difference between the US and India is merely in terms of magnitude; but those differences are like asking a drowning person if they would prefer to be a foot underwater or ten feet underwater.  

It is not funny that grampa doesn't really know how to make waffles, or that he is not allowed to use the stove.  It is not funny because I have seen one too many such men.

While men might even talk a good talk of equality, when the test is for the sponge meeting the dishes, well, talk is easy:

One study that amused me looked at various tasks and how they affected people’s satisfaction with their relationship. For women, it was all about dishwashing — if that task was shared, they were happier, and if they did all the dishes, they were discontent. Men were happiest when they shared errands, and least happy when they did more cleaning and laundry than their partner.

It is not that men do not do chores; take a look at the following chart :

Perhaps you think, "hey, it seems like there are some chores that men do, and some that women do."  If you think that way, well, think again.  How often does the yard need to be worked on, and how often do the dishes need to get done?

It’s striking to me how much chores break down along gender lines. The chores men do more of are usually outdoors, like car upkeep and yard work. The chores women do more of are indoors, like cleaning and cooking. But there’s a big reason men’s tasks are more desirable — the chores they do happen weekly or less often, and the ones women do happen daily or several times a day.

Grampa sets a bad example for the grandson, right?  Are you also concerned now?

So, what can be done?

Among other things, maybe "parents giving their sons as many chores as their daughters, or schools and pediatricians’ offices who need to reach families calling fathers, not just mothers."

Ahem, shouldn't that always have been the norm?

I hope that mothers will convince their young boys that real men aren't afraid of the kitchen and the laundry room, and that real men know what bed skirts and duvets are.

(PS: Studies show that this issue is less of a problem in same-sex relationships.)