Sir, – As one of your letter writers recently suggested, many International Women’s Day events and workshops (largely organised and attended by women) might benefit more from male participants for the purposes of reflection and education.
My mother had three sons with my father.
I’m the eldest.
She had one of those How to be a Good Wife instruction manuals in the press over the oven, but there was also a copy of The Female Eunuch on the shelf beside the recipe books.
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One Christmas Day (3.14pm, 1997 to be exact), just before she dished out the Brussels sprouts, right in the middle of the traditional sit-down-woman-for-f**k-sakeing, she slowly addressed us one by one.
To the baby: “You are the youngest, but you are 18 now.”
To the loyal middle guy: “You’ve had a job for the last few years.”
To the black sheep: “We haven’t seen you here since you left school.”
To her beloved: “You’re going to have to learn how to boil an egg.”
And as we all sat there with our mouths open, staring up at her like confused hungry hatchlings, she calmly announced: “I’m going back to college to do a degree in Spanish and Archaeology, and this is the last time I’m doing the Christmas dinner.”
Before she sat down in total silence to an entirely male audience, to cut her own slice of goose. – Yours, etc,
DAVID O’REILLY,
Eyre Square,
Galway.
