Family Matters

So, for the past month or so I’ve been hearing this advertisement on the radio while driving to/from work. I have bristled with contempt each time I have heard it. I don’t even remember what it’s about now, because as soon as I hear the first line, which is the part that bothers me, I change stations.

What could this line be, you may ask, that offends me so? It is as follows:

“As a woman, my family is most important to me.”

This seems fairly unimposing. Why would this be offensive. What strikes me each time is the “as a woman” bit.

As a woman, family is most important to me. I’m not sure why this rubs me the wrong way so much. Maybe because I feel it makes the assumption that family should be the most important aspect of life to a woman. Maybe because it suggests that as a man, family is not and cannot be the most important thing.

Honestly, I feel like those three words “as a woman” are a hugely unnecessary addition to whatever it is this commercial is advertising. Like caring about your family is conditional and if you aren’t a woman it can’t possibly be the most important thing to you.

Who knows? Maybe I’m just not womanly enough to understand.