Chalk Carvings by Rizwan Buttar: December 2011

I made this Carving out of a Single Chalk generally used to write on black boards in schools, it depicts the Overburdened Women from Past

Overburdened Women And Marginal Men Present and Past

One of the major trends of the century is that men are increasingly being viewed as irrelevant and women are breaking down trying to everything themselves. Women complain that; they feel they have to carry most of the responsibilities of life these days. "I just can’t count on men to carry their own weight and I certainly can’t rely on them to help carry me when I need it."

Men complain that they don’t feel valued or appreciated. "No matter what I do, I don’t feel that women really believe that I contribute something of real value to the world."

Is the old feminist line from the 60s, "A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle," true?

Though most of human history women needed men to help provide for and protect them. Men needed women to gather the food that provided most of their nourishment. They also needed women to cook and make their clothing. Both needed each other for companionship, love, and sex. They also needed each other to raise the children that would carry their genes into future generations.

In modern society we have gotten so good at taking care of our basic needs that the division of labor has broken down. Women can earn the money to buy the food that they need. If they feel unsafe they can take self-defense classes or learn how to use a gun. They can even have babies without a man. They just borrow some sperm. Men no longer need women to gather the food, cook it, or make clothing for them. They can eat out and buy whatever they need at their local department store. Some believe that children don’t really need a mother and a father. Single-parenthood is on the rise everywhere. Same sex couples are raising children without the benefit of the "other" sex.

It would seem that we don’t need each other in the same way we did in the past. Yet when I talk to men and women, most say they would like to have a long-term intimate relationship with a partner of the other sex. Even gay and lesbian couples want to be in a committed relationship. If we want to be coupled, what’s getting in the way?