EDITOR: The 21st century and even a little before that has ushered in the era of the ‘house husband’ … Yes, the house husband !

These are not lazy men with a leaning to the feminine, but strong, athletic, smart, handsome and talented, who may not have been ‘lucky’ to land the job of their choice, but who are, in most cases, lucky enough to have a wife who is working. Gone are the days when it was only the men who returned home tired on evenings to meet a tidy home, a hot meal waiting and a loving wife with a radiant smile to greet him. The opposite is now quite true and most professional women look forward to going home after work to meet the man of their life with dreams of fulfilling their love life, before or after a sumptuous meal.

Women are increasingly taking on leadership roles in society; we have female pilots, bus drivers, bricklayers, lawyers, electronic technicians, astronauts, doctors, politicians and traditionally male dominated environments are being ‘intruded’ on by brave and capable females. But when females move out of their ‘traditional’ roles, it creates a vacuum that is now often being filled by equally capable men. Hairdressing is considered a woman’s occupation, yet the world’s best hairstylists, gynaecologists or cake decorators are men.

Why is this so? Why aren’t women trying to be the best in what is considered their traditional roles? Or is it that society is evolving in their thinking, and that occupational sex role stereotypes are being replaced by open-minded males and females who dare to satisfy their own academic and professional needs, by doing the things that please them most? The latter comment is how I envisage this revolution.

What about you? But smile before you do.

Donald De Riggs