International Men's Day '17: When home-making is the new manliness

They don't step into the kitchen to cook or clean the dishes for fun. They do it for they believe that household chores aren't solely their wives' responsibility. Or even changing nappies for that matter. Responsibilities, for them, don't just end at the doorsteps of their homes. It is within those four walls too.

This also comes with a realisation for them. And they are candidly open about it.

Welcome to the world of millennial males. They walk their talk. They are redefining relationship goals.

The Virat-Anushka Manyavar advertisement quietly puts the new relationship goals to the fore. Relationship, they suggest, isn't about the man taking care of the woman alone. It comes with an acknowledgment that the woman too will do the same. Equality isn't a statement anymore, it's a fact now, more so, a practice.

This isn't all.

Breaking the stereotype, men are indeed coming out of their age-old mindset.

Men, nowadays, are looking for working partners instead of just housewives who conventionally would limit themselves to home management.

Take for instance, the relationship-balance that Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan maintain. Gauri isn't just a trophy wife. She is, primarily, nowhere referred as the superstar's better half, but, a film producer and an interior designer.

Manliness is no longer defined by earning a huge sum and bringing it home at the end of the day. Unlike before, contemporary men are spending their leisure time at home not just watching television but looking after the kids and managing every possible household task.

Just like the fact that women are not lagging behind in any aspect, men too are equally contributing in home-making.

It is no more the wife's duty to wake up early in the morning and prepare tea for the family. I've seen my father waking up way before my mother and making tea religiously for her before leaving for office. I'm sure the scene wasn't exactly the same some twenty-two years back when I was born. The thought process is transforming gradually.

Today, if home and work go hand-in-hand for women, men too have sensed the idea of striking the balance. Starting from feeding the kid to cooking and cleaning at times, they are doing it all, and with perfection.

When my female colleagues are driving down to office and spending hours aloof from all household duties, they are leaving their kids at home in the custody of their counterparts. In their opinion, men now have come out of their pre-conceived mental makeup; they are willingly and efficiently taking part in home-making.

Part of this is due to the changing family structures. Couples more often than not find themselves away from their roots trying to set up a home in new and alien cities. To do that amid their high-pressure jobs, long commutes put enormous pressure on both. Unless responsibilities are shared the relationships are bound to become dysfunctional.

This Men's day, let's hope that today's 'Adam and Eve' join forces happily and build a better tomorrow!

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)