Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Infantilization

I had lunch with my son and wife, and her mother, aunt and uncle. The latter four spent almost the entire time talking about my sister-in-law, who has stopped taking her medication as she continues to cut herself. My aunt, who I've only met three times before, then took the opportunity today to start talking to me like a child in warning me not to eat too much. Twice. And she barked the same thing about my son.

Is there some rule in my marriage where a husband is supposed to be infantilized and treated like this? Every single woman in my married life does this to me, as if nobody's aware that it's my paycheck that keeps the five people in this family afloat.

Before I got married, my wife asked for my opinions and ideas for things going on with her life, our fun and the like. But once the ring came on, suddenly I'm assumed to be some helpless little boy who can't do anything on his own, despite doing more than every other person in this family combined.

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