From Fathers to Husbands to Sons...

Why are women always dependent on men? Or the better question is: Why does everyone think that we are? I'm sick of seeing the theme of ownership of a woman in so many different contexts. It's like a woman is a dog who is owned by her father, then passed on to a husband, and then when she has a son, owned by him. The discourse is not often this direct, but the idea of a woman needing a man is seen very frequently. For example, I was reading an article about Aubrey Graham, a rich Jewish Canadian turned American rap star (that's another story altogether), said, regarding his parents' divorce, “I had to become a man very quickly and be the backbone for a woman who I love with all my heart, my mother." While I am sure his role changed in his family when his parents divorced, I find his comment to be based on a sexist ideology that says that a woman cannot survive independently. We often fail to question the myth that tells us that every home needs a "man of the house". What does that even mean?