I was watching this video, basically arguing that women expect far more from life than men do. And I turned to my husband and said, okay, so what do men actually want then? And he basically said, comfort. Food, sex, a woman they fancy, a decent home, their mates, a bit of peace. And obviously that's a massive generalization, but it got me thinking, because women are incredibly easy to sell to. We want the bigger house, the nicer kitchen, the better body, the new clothes, the holiday, the wedding, the skincare, the Christmas decorations, the freaking matching salt and pepper grinders, because apparently the ones we already have no longer fit the aesthetic of the kitchen. There's always another level. And capitalism absolutely loves women for that, because the easiest person to sell something to is someone you can convince that what they already have is isn't enough. Then I started thinking, what happens when we apply the same mentality to our entire lives? Because I completely understand why more women are looking at marriage and children and thinking, why? Why would I give up my freedom? Why would I risk my body? Why would I spend my money on children? Why would I compromise with a husband? Why would I tolerate someone irritating me when I can earn my own money to travel, have a beautiful home, have friends, date when I feel like it, and build exactly the kind of life I want? And actually, if the ultimate goal of life is comfort, pleasure, and freedom, I don't have a particularly good argument against that. Stay single, don't have children. Spend your money on yourself, sleep whenever you want with whoever you want, travel whenever you want. Never compromise with anybody. You could probably build a really enjoyable life like that. But is an enjoyable life necessarily a fulfilling one? Because almost everything we consider deeply meaningful requires some sort of sacrifice. Marriage restrains you, children restrict you, family inconveniences you. Building something worthwhile exhausts you. Loving people properly means sometimes putting what they need above what you need. And I'm not saying marry some useless bum because sacrifice builds character. Absolutely not. I'm definitely not saying every woman needs children to have purpose. I do wonder whether we become so obsessed with asking what can life give me? And we stopped asking what am I actually supposed to give life? And men aren't exempt from this either. Their consumerism may look a little different, with porn, gaming, cars, gadgets, casual sex, endless entertainment. Or simply protecting their peace so aggressively that nobody can ever require anything else from them. Different packaging, same mentality. Maximum pleasure, maximum freedom, minimum responsibility. Maybe that's why capitalism works so beautiful on all of us. Because fulfilled people eventually say I have enough. Consumers can never be allowed to feel like they have enough. There always needs to be a better body, a better house, a better lifestyle. Maybe even a better partner. And I genuinely don't know the answer to this. Because freedom is valuable, comfort is nice. Wanting more from life isn't wrong. But at what point does constantly choosing the life that asks the least from you stop being freedom and start becoming a life built entirely around avoiding sacrifice? And if we remove sacrifice, responsibility, and commitment from our lives in the pursuit of happiness, where exactly are we expecting fulfillment to come from?
