Excuses, excuses
- Why Men Don't Iron (Channel 4)
- The Louise Woodward Interview (BBC1)
- Beg To Differ (BBC2)
I think I've hit writer's block.
After 100 or so weeks of abusing John Bruton and Donegal men, to
name a few, and reminiscing about my granny's cat and his uncle,
my font has run dry.
But there's nothing like a good domestic to get your brain
running, especially as it promised to help my ironing career.
``Why Men Don't Iron'' asked if there was a biological reason women
ended up more often than not in the home, and why, after three
decades of supposed equal opportunity, there had been little
change in the differnces between the sexes.
Being single was a great illusion - burnt beans and spuds was a
great stomach liner and one never noticed the three inches of
dust and termites on top of the telly, and mother told the
neighbours ``sure isn't he doing great there above in Dublin for
himself and all....wouldn't he make a great husband''.
After marriage reality sets in - the toilet bowl has to be
scrubbed and baby has to come before the marches and pints.
Unfortunately for many of us, improvement is slow, and painful
for our partners.
d now we have the excuse that biology and not generations of
conditioning makes us like this. The programme produced very
impressive brain scans, showing differences in brain power
between men and women.
At birth girls are much quicker to recognise their parents' faces
and are supposedly more sensitive. The chemistry in the brains is
different and hence men are more competitive and more willing to
take risks. But one must ask, do the parents, despite their
efforts, condition their children - girls are generally kept off
the streets and dressed in pink, while boys are taken to football
matches and expected to fend for themselves. Amanda and Brian
tried the opposite with their twins, but to little avail as
Harry, despite much gentle pink persuasion, made a beeline for
the tractor and Sally for the dollies. The documentary also
claimed that differences exist in spatial and verbal abilities,
hence the different paths taken in education.
Boys supposedly thrived better in the competitive and
disipline-driven educational world of yesteryear while girls are
strides ahead of their male counterparts in the modern schooling
era.
Jenny Fincker and her teaching associates have tried to
accommodate the sexes in their secondary school - boys are
exposed to more ``heroes'' in literature to inspire, while girls
are encouraged to succeed in maths.
If these methods are expanded on, are we to see Yeats and
Shakespeare being replaced by Scharwzenegger and Gazza? One can't
but agree that mixed schooling is more healthy and natural for
all, particularly as the old excuse for boys schools - more
priests and better hurling teams - is no more. Boys secondary
schools invariably consist of bullying, spitting, cornbeef
sandwiches, rainy bus stops and giggling at porno mags.
ything else can only be of benefit. Now back to my sixpack!
Peter, whether influenced by his brain size or more likely life's
experiences, was more resourceful and a better cook than most
men.
Featured in last Monday's ``Beg To Differ'', he scavenges through
bins in order that ``us homeless people should also be able to
avail of London's gastronomical delights''. After tipping any
prospective bindiggers about avoiding the maggots, bleach and rat
poison, he ``foraged'' (which he described as a great hobby) a
variety of meat and vegtables and cooked up a mediterranean
barbecue over a bin.
Stan spent his days looking for a suit as ``it hides your position
in society - you can be anything from a drug dealer to an
astronaut, and you still pass off as respectable'' It allows Stan
``to step out of my life into yours''. There were other strange
carry-ons in this novel programme including the first designer
home for the homeless, which claimed our genes affect our
likelihood of being homeless.
This was rightly refuted by Jenny as a long standing Tory excuse
not to do anything about the homeless and other marginalised
groups - ``the poor, the poor, sure no matter what you do they'll
always be with us; but sure aren't they great all the same and
aren't they the first to get into heaven always?!''
``Beg To Differ'' is partly presented by homeless people but the
programme makers forgot that they don't have tellys - which makes
this appear more like amusement for yuppies.
Louise Woodward was also busy making excuses (or was she?) on the
long awaited Panorama interview.
When one peels back all the media hype, she did make a strong and
impressive case for herself, and her case bears many similarities
to Irish people framed by British and Irish police - forced and
false statements, police not completing procedures and ``putting
words in her mouth'', trial by tabloid, characterised as cold and
unemotional in court etc, etc.
Nevertheless the trial became but a soap opera for those who
needed a midday fix and yet another diversion from what the media
should be focusing on. One benefit of the hype was to expose the
miserable treatment given to `nannies' throught the Western World
by overworked and neglectful parents, and the consequences.
Now I'm definitely going back to the iron!
By Sean O Donaile
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