Gender Shopping Gap
I went shopping with my daughter this morning for New Year's Eve clothes. Thanks to the weather, there weren't that many people, so the episode was relatively stressless. And it did give a chance to observe different shoppers, including some men who were accompanying women. Up to a point, things have changed from the days when the woman went into a shop and the man waited outside with the bags. Now the man tends to enter with the woman, but he doesn't always show much interest. My husband went with our daughter the other day and he says he loves to go shopping with her because they think alike. Both tend to know exactly what they want and go directly to where it should be with blinders on. And while he and I are different in our approach, he has no problem going shopping with me, either.
Today there were men helping the women make a selection. There was a whole family of mother, father, aunt, younger son, and late adolescent son finding nice party clothes for the youngsters. Each with their own opinion. There were men following the women throughout the stores, making suggestions and carrying bags. There were a few others who were sitting outside, with the bags and tired looks on their faces. Those were the fewer. But not all those who were inside a store with the women were interested in helping.
As I was walking past a section, following my daughter who was plowing ahead, searching for one exact piece of clothing, I passed a couple. The woman had apparently bought an item of clothing in another shop and was trying to find something to go with it. She was holding up a top against some pants. As I passed, she wrapped up the top and tried to put it in a bag the man was holding out in one hand. In the other hand, he was typing on a phone. She was getting frustrated with his lack of help and snatched away the bag saying, "Dios, se apagaras o teléfono!" (God, if you would only turn off the phone!) Despite changes in society there are still some men who are not interested in shopping and will never be interested.
Today there were men helping the women make a selection. There was a whole family of mother, father, aunt, younger son, and late adolescent son finding nice party clothes for the youngsters. Each with their own opinion. There were men following the women throughout the stores, making suggestions and carrying bags. There were a few others who were sitting outside, with the bags and tired looks on their faces. Those were the fewer. But not all those who were inside a store with the women were interested in helping.
As I was walking past a section, following my daughter who was plowing ahead, searching for one exact piece of clothing, I passed a couple. The woman had apparently bought an item of clothing in another shop and was trying to find something to go with it. She was holding up a top against some pants. As I passed, she wrapped up the top and tried to put it in a bag the man was holding out in one hand. In the other hand, he was typing on a phone. She was getting frustrated with his lack of help and snatched away the bag saying, "Dios, se apagaras o teléfono!" (God, if you would only turn off the phone!) Despite changes in society there are still some men who are not interested in shopping and will never be interested.
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