It may be 2019, but there is still this weird societal habit that assumes genders for specific jobs.
The mistake goes both ways. Nurse, teacher, nanny…all immediately bring the image of a woman, even though there are many men in those professions.
But when it comes to those assumptions, it’s the types of jobs that make the difference in how egregious the mistake is.
Somehow, if the job is high-paying, highly skilled, or indicates some high level of authority or power, it’s always assumed to be for men.
Women always get defaulted to the “soft” jobs.
It’s in situations like this that satire can be at its most powerful.
The satirical Facebook and Twitter account “Man Who Has It All” has been poking fun at gendered assumptions through both pointed content and t-shirt designs.
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His posts take ideas, comments, and criticisms often directed at women and turns them back on men.
Even the account name is a reference to how women are supposed to be able to “have it all.” He’s created a satirical alternate universe that looks like what it might be like if gendered norms were reversed.
My favorite part is his line of professional t-shirts.
Available in “universal fit and men’s fit” the shirts are sure to indicate whether the wearer is a regular architect or a “male” architect.
It’s playing with the fact that, for some reason, society feels the need to indicate gender for only certain jobs.
Again, it’s not that this doesn’t happen with some jobs seen as “women’s work.”
It’s simply that for those professions deemed to be of higher merit, the default always seems to be male.
The professor shirt is a perfect example.
While a “teacher” is often presumed to be female, a “professor” is thought to be male. Professor is seen to be more “elite” than a standard teacher.
Similar to a doctor vs. a nurse.
They are incredibly pointed in their satire.
Publishing is one of the few industries where instead of “female author” you’re more likely to hear “woman author.” So for those shirts, that was mirrored too. “Man author” is funnier than it has any right to be.
Is this humor going to change the world?
Probably not, but in these troubling times, sometimes finding the humor alongside the message is exactly what we need.
It’s silly to call a guy a “male lawyer,” and that’s the point. It’s silly for women too and yet society still does it. Next time you almost make an assumption, just remember the poor man poet.
