Gendered Books

I was waiting for a ride outside of a bookstore. It must have been sometime in May or June because the store windows were filled with books for Mom or Dad. Specifically, one window was full of books for Mom, and one window was full of books for Dad.

Oh, this should be good.

Here are the titles from the Mom window. I’ve included links so you can see the books, but the titles are likely enough to get the point across.

Southern Lady: Gracious Tables: The Perfect Setting for Any Occasion

Scrapbook Kit

Coretta Scott

Things to Do Now That You’re…a Mom

Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats

The One Year Women’s Friendship Devotional

New Women’s Devotional Bible

Motherhood Is Not For Sissies (Keepsake)

The Power of a Praying® Woman

How to Talk to Moms

A Mom After God’s Own Heart: 10 Ways to Love Your Children

A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers

The Best Mom in the World

My Mother Said I Never Should

Then, in the other window, here were the titles for Dads:

Golf: The Best Instruction Book Ever!

Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit

Grandfather Remembers: Memories for My Grandchild

Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance

LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout

How to Tie a Tie

P is for Putt: A Golf Alphabet

How I Play Golf (Tiger Woods)

The Everything Father-To-Be Book

101 Workouts

You Can Observe A Lot By Watching: What I’ve Learned About Teamwork From the Yankees and Life

Chapman Knots for Boaters

Things To Do With Dad

Now, what conclusion do I draw from this? The first is just that people trying to sell you stuff tend to suck, of course. You just get reduced to a copy of a copy of a copy of someone’s idea of a person. You’re a dad? I know! Golf!

Anyway.

Next, let’s match up some of the books from either side. Let’s see; Dad gets a book about fashion (ties), Mom gets the black ladies’ hats book, which is a social/culture book, but also about fashion. Mom gets a biography of a lady (Scott); Dad gets a Yogi Berra book that’s ostensibly about Berra and teamwork (although you could just call it a sports book).

Dad gets a hobby book about boating. Mom gets two hobby books: decorating and crafts. That’s irritating enough to me. Women don’t like to boat? Men don’t like crafts or decorating? Oh, right. Manly crafts are called something else and have their own store. My bad.

Anyway.

Each side has 10 books remaining.

When you break down Mom’s remaining books, 70% relate to being a mom and 50% are god-related (there’s some overlap).

When you break down Dad’s remaining books, it’s 50% sports, 20% working out, and 30% dad-related.

That’s all. I don’t have to struggle here for any grand conclusion, because it’s not surprising to anyone anyway. Men like sports. Women have devotionals. Men are dads (even around father’s day) 30% of the time; women are mothers 70% of the time. Blah blah blah.

These walls of books paint a picture – a boring, insulting, annoying picture.

Tags: Books, Mother, Women