Old habits die hard , so they say. It seems particularly true with many of our most widely held customs, traditions, and even our opinions.
But now, with a new decade before us, perhaps now is the time to leave certain ideals in the past. Have a look as people share what outdated opinions they feel need to be trashed.
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“Addressing a married woman as ‘Mrs. Husband’s first and last name.’”
A woman changing her last name is a vastly outdated tradition that the majority of couples blindly follow without ever really asking why. And why in 2021 is the woman always the one expected to change her name; why don’t any of the men offer to do the same?
That divorce is a sin.
“I divorced my mentally and emotionally abusive ex-husband after 2 years of marriage (we were very young) and now I have a beautiful family with a man who respects me and makes me laugh every day.” – Reddit u/momma_bear_3
“That houses are easy to buy.”
The median household income in Ontario is $65,000. The average house price in Ontario is just under $600,000 , with homes trading in some instances hundreds of thousands of dollars above the asking price.
You do the math.
“By the time you’re 30 you should own a house, two cars, a wife and two children.”
I happen to be living this right now. It’s almost a year to the day until my wedding, but all anyone ever wants to ask Megan and me is “when are you having kids ?”
That a college diploma/university degree is a mark of intelligence.
Never mistake education for intelligence. Some of the dumbest people I ever met in my entire life were college peers. Conversely, some of the wisest people I’ve ever spoken to have never set foot inside a classroom.
“Loyalty to corporations, or workplaces that are detrimental to the employee.”
I can totally relate to satori0320’s point. I use to work in a call center for one of the big banks and the culture was downright manipulative . They’d feign sincerity over issues like mental health but would write you up if you ever dared to take a sick/personal day.
That a man should ask his wife’s father for permission before marrying her.
What if your wife’s dad is a piece of [expletive]? What if he was never around and is so self-absorbed that he couldn’t care less about his daughter getting married. And furthermore — why doesn’t anyone ever ask the mother?
No labels at the dinner table.
“My grandmother would not put anything on the dinner table with a label. Catsup , mustard, salt, pepper, salad dressing, etc. Everything was placed in a small bowl or other proper dispenser,” Reddit user Birdapotamus said.
Believing that everyone has to struggle in order to succeed.
Redditor PianoManGidley says that people who believe others should struggle simply because you struggled and came out the other side — you most certainly did not turn out to be OK.
“My Nan doesn’t think women should drink out of bottles.”
“She will insist when you come round that if you are a woman with a bottle of beer/soft drink, that it goes into a glass. Just women though. It isn’t ladylike apparently!” – Reddit u/Tangtastictwosome
Mental health and anxiety aren’t real issues.
Reddit user Val-Wiggin says that when they first began seeking assistance for mental health issues, that their mother called them a “mental cripple.” It’s precisely this kind of toxic thinking that needs to be eradicated.
A wife should be a constant caregiver to her husband.
“There is a certain population of older men who literally cannot function domestically without their wives,” Reddit user Patag0n1a explained. “They married young and their wives just did everything for them.”
You need to be in the office five days a week.
Reddit user ToyDingo thinks that it’s high time we do away with the five-day workweek. Absolutely nothing productive gets done on a Friday anyway as people are just counting down the minutes until the weekend.
Our etiquette needs to adapt.
“That saying ‘no problem’ or something in a similar vein is somehow ruder than saying ‘you’re welcome’. This is something I’ve had elderly family members mention a few times and I genuinely do not understand it.” – Reddit u/buriedclementines
Blood is thicker than water.
There’s a big difference between being a father and being a dad . And if you don’t know where the distinction lies — you need to take a look at yourself in the mirror.
Kids — you don’t owe your family anything.
