Mixtapes & 6 Other Obsolete Love Trends
Airport good-byes, body hair and housewives are relationship dinosaurs. What's on its way out next?
As the 21st century flies by, there's an ever-increasing host of objects, phrases and protocol relating to love that—if they haven't already fallen—are teetering on the edge of extinction.
Think about it: our kids won't know what a big deal caller ID was in the '90s. Not only could you see that Mike Jenkins from biology class had called you eight times in a row, you could screen calls out of spousal anger or first-date-follow-up fright. When today's younglings start dating, the existence of caller ID will seem as commonplace as the smartphone itself.
Obsolete: An Encyclopedia of Once-Common Things Passing Us By (Abrams, $15.95) chronicles the goods and practices rendered out of date, now, faster than ever. The back cover reads: "Today, we experience in one year the same amount of change that it would have taken generations to experience a few hundred years ago."
As the author Anna Jane Grossman points out, gone are things like body hair, full words (obvi) and sadness. And these rapid evolutions are altering the way we find, show and maintain love, for better (sayonara, comb-overs) or worse (so long, privacy). Here are seven other things no longer part of our love lexicon.
1. Airport Good-Byes. We get choked up just thinking about the airport good-bye's demise. Where can one enact that kind of genuine melodrama these days?
The practice of accompanying someone (often a dewy-eyed lover) all the way to the gate at the airport, now thought to be as potentially dangerous as a handbag containing Scope.
2. Blind Dates. Google stalking means no one's a complete stranger anymore. And if he is, you probably shouldn't date him.
Recognizing a date only by the carnation in his lapel [has] become… quaint. If a friend sets you up with someone and you don't automatically look for his image on Google, check his 'relationship' status on Facebook, and make sure his name isn't listed on CheaterNews.com or TheDickList.com… one might question if you're fit to date at all.
3. Housewives. Even if a woman decides to stay home with the kids today, this ain't the apron-wearing, Martini-mixing lady we associate with the term "housewife." Career And Family: Can We Really Have Both?
4. Hyphenated Last Names. When the kids with hyphenated names started marrying other kids with hyphenated names, well, someone's name had to be dropped. Married or Maiden Name: How To Choose
Discussion
This is really fun. I can’t imagine myself being on those situations. Gee! Do you know this Motorola Droid? It’s a smartphone and it’s more than a laptop. Take time to get comfortable with the Quick Launch feature, and looking up info on Android forums might also come in handy. Only that it has less battery life than the most basic of cellular phones. I know some who have but they find difficulties with their smartphone. It would be a shame if you couldn't figure out how to work the phone you just got installment loans for – so looking up Motorola Droid tips is a good idea.
No kidding! I miss waving at the window of the airport lounge vaguely hoping my family is there watching just before take off. Now the lounge is closed cause it was "too close" to the departure area and couldn't be "secured".
There are a lot of myths about housewives. Certainly I have never met an apron-wearing, Martini-mixing lady, not even when I was growing up and every house on the block had a woman inside it during the day. Most of my friends have spent some time home with their kids and none of us even vaguely resemble June Cleaver who was, after all, a TV character.
Nevertheless, I don't think it's fair to say that housewives are obsolete any more than full-time career women with children. Both still exist.
The biggest group is probably mothers who are both. They may drop out of the paid work force completely, but they usually go back someday. They may stay in the workforce, but they often cut back to part-time or down-shift in their career. Some work at home or do shift work. A mother who goes right on working full-time the whole time she has children is not the norm - and few mothers would prefer to work full-time.
Absolutely agree Book Mama! I'm a stay at home mom and I have never worn an apron except when teaching my kids the finer points of using a mixer...that stuff get messy! I don't know how to make a martini though I can make a killer pot of coffee! I teach my kids all day while cleaning the house and managing the household accounts, it is a ful time job! I realize how lucky I am to have been able to have this choice as well even though I have to have my husband attend my Doctor's visits just to keep the whole "you lazy spoiled housewife" attitude from popping up...but that's another story all together.
