I have quite a few friends – shocking, I know – who reflect the modern, stereotypical man pretty well. None of them dislike women, and most of them are either married or in healthy relationships, but they can be a little ‘machismo’ sometimes. With that, I mean the typical ‘women can’t drive, my wife always nags, damn shoes and she made up our minds’ nonsense. I get it, it’s just making conversation. I’ll admit to partaking in this kind of banter a few times as well: “There’s a sale next door? Better not tell the missus! Haha, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, snicker.” And to support equality for all: Some women are just as bad! “Football match tonight. Guess my husband’s unavailable then. Blah-blah, something that doesn’t get done around the house.”

Every relationship is different, and people are different. Yet we’re still bogged down by petty stereotypes and expected behavior. In reality, these exist to a lesser extent every day, so we might as well stop clinging to them. I’m a man – last time I checked, at least – and I can’t stand football. I think it’s utterly, fucking stupid! I also keep my hands out of my boxers, and have no clue what goes on under the hood of a car. I know what colors go together, and I can buy furniture for the house, because I have taste. Do you know what this makes me? Still just a regular man! My wife hates shopping; because she’s not that into shoes or fashion. On the flip-side, she loves whiskey just as much as I do. Do you know what that makes her? Still just a regular woman. Some of these stereotypes are so worked into our psyche, it makes us instantly label people who deviate from them. I realize we’ve shied away from some of them – we’re not all about the ‘dolls or cars’ dichotomy anymore – but at least one gender stereotype still exist and thrive: How we relate to one another.