If you’re like most husbands, you’ve probably given your wife the wrong Mother’s Day gift, by which I mean anything implying she should do more around house.
A vacuum cleaner, for example, would be a bad idea. My brother once gave his wife a series of DVDs on cooking. She did not react well. The oven mitt he got her from Walgreen’s was not a hit, either, even though he said he put a lot of thought into it.
But today being Father’s Day, I’m prompted to point out a double-standard concerning men.
A few days ago, I opened the newspaper and a Father’s Day gift supplement fell out. There were several featured items. The first was a lawn mower. Let’s think about this.
It is general custom on Mother’s Day to bring the mom of the house breakfast in bed, and cater to her thereafter.
By contrast, on Father’s Day, the message to dads is to mow the lawn.
I consider this discrimination.
The other prominent item in this gift insert was a backyard grill. On Mother’s Day, moms are expected to be served. On Father’s Day, dads are expected to cook.
A second supplement fell out of the same newspaper. This one suggested you buy the special dad in your life a hedge trimmer. Then it said, “See more on page 6,” where I found folks being urged to buy dad a leafblower, shop-vac or pressure washer. That way, when he is finished trimming shrubs, cleaning up a basement leak and driving lawn debris into piles, he can blast dirt off the vinyl siding. I turned the page and saw another prominent gift idea for dad: a five-gallon can of Valspar exterior paint. This is the equivalent of giving a woman a roll of wallpaper on Mother’s Day.
Seeing a pattern, I began roving the Web to analyze gifts featured for Father’s Day. There seemed to be three key categories, all focused on making men do work.

projo.com