CWLU Herstory Blog

Paula Kamen's bio of writer Iris Chang is due in the bookstores on October 22. Iris Chang committed suicide in November 2004 after a long battle with depression.

Iris Chang's best known book was The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. The book tells the story of the infamous 1937-1938 Nanking massacre which took place during the Sino-Japanese War.

For the past 17 years, students at the University of Maryland have participated in a rape awareness program where victims and advocates against sexual violence hang T-shirts along a huge clothesline on campus. Some victims also write the names of their assailants on their shirts.

Adam Ayd sent us this essay that he wrote for a school assignment back in 1995. Please feel free to comment, but to be fair, make sure you read it all the way to the end.

Why I Want A Real Wife - October 6, 1995 by Adam Ayd

A real wife - a woman who is as much of a wife as her husband is a husband.

I belong to a classification of people know as men. I am A Man who is put down so very often by women for the way that they think we treat them.

Not too long ago in AP English, I was given an assignment to read an essay by Judy Syfers called Why I Want A Wife. Although the essay was written in 1971, Syfers went on to explain what the stereotypical man would want for a perfect wife. As I read the essay, I felt offended because the fact of the matter is that most women think that men expect this, but most men actually don't. Have you read some of the headlines on women's magazines? "How to Get the Money You Deserve", "How to Cheat, and Get Away With It", and most of all, "All Men Are Pigs, the Proof on p. 130." Please! I don't treat women like this and most of my friends don't either. Bitter are we? All I want is a real wife.

I would like to go to college so I can live a better life, support myself, and support those dependent of me. I want a wife who works and can take care of the kids. I want a wife who takes care of the children's clothing, schooling, and health problems. I want a wife who will spend quality time with the children and insure a safe and happy life with them. I want a wife who will keep the children clean and make sure they are taught the proper way. I want a wife who will feed the children and make sure what they are eating is healthy. I want a wife who will make sure that the children have an adequate social life and encourages them to interact with their peers. I want a wife who will take time from her work and leisure time to be with the children.

I want a wife who will attend to my physical needs. I want a wife who will clean the house and pick up after me and the children. I want a wife who will do the laundry, and iron and mend the clothes. I want a wife who is a good cook and will cook dinner at any time. I want a wife who will go to the market when need be. I want a wife who will care for me when I am sick and sympathise with me when I am injured. I want a wife who will plan the family vacations and who will handle the monthly budget.