Single Man vs. The Sitcom Man

If you haven’t had the pleasure of happening on Jason Vana’s fun, funny and fundamentally challenging blog, you’re losing out. I’ve only recently had the pleasure of knowing Jason, but you’ll find he’s the world’s youngest grandpa, has a passion for college ministry, missions and all things Czech. You should read his stuff while munching on kolaches. If you’re on Twitter, give him a follow. You will not regret this.

Ladies, he’s single. He cooks. He sews. He cleans. He knows the difference between there and their and they’re (and now, while I’m still singing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” I’ll turn it over to his guest post!)

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As a single man in my 30’s, I have a natural born nemesis.

It’s not the nagging thought that I will be single the rest of my life, or the growing piles of dirty laundry around my laundry basket (though I’m pretty sure I was created to HATE doing laundry), or even the occasional missing button or ripped seam on my clothes (I did master the sewing machine after all).

No, my nemesis is a lot worse than any of that. He likes to sneak into your homes, woo you with his funny ways, and convince you to think less of me.

He is none other than the Sitcom Man.

Sure, guys like Tim Taylor (Home Improvement), Ray Barone (Everyone Loves Raymond), Charlie and Alan Harper (Two and a Half Men), Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) and countless other male sitcom characters make us laugh. They bring joy and humor into our night time line-up. They might even help us forget about some of the stress going on in our lives.

But don’t be fooled! They are up to something more devious than just making you laugh…

They are out to make every man look like a helpless idiot.

Think about it. Each show is roughly the same: idiot husband does something idiotic, tries to hide it from his nanny of a wife who eventually finds out and confronts him, and ends with him having to apologize and promising to do better. Or the eternal bachelor spends night after night after night seducing women, treating them like objects, and never learning his lesson.

These men are helpless, don’t know how to be open and vulnerable, are always doing the stupidest things, and would probably be a dirty, starving, ungroomed hobo if it weren’t for their wife.

And while that might make for a great sitcom, the worst part is…

That’s how a lot of people see the male gender.

We’re helpless.
We don’t know how to take care of ourselves.
And if we don’t have a woman in our lives, we’re nothing but gross slobs playing video games all day in clothes that haven’t been washed in months.

I have an uphill battle to fight.

‘Cause you see, not all men are helpless idiots.

I like to think that I’m a pretty good, independent kind of guy. I know how to take care of myself. I know how to cook a real meal (and not just microwave dinners). I know how to do laundry. I know how to keep a fairly clean house. I’m motivated, hard working, treat the ladies with honor and respect, don’t need to be told to take the garbage out, or do the dishes or mow the lawn. I try to be generous, caring, loving. I share my thoughts,  when I have them (yes ladies, it’s actually possible for us guys to be thinking about nothing), and feelings with others and like to think I’m fairly intelligent.

My momma didn’t raise a fool.

And so I will continue to fight against my natural-born nemesis. When he tries to convince you that all men are slobs, I’ll show you my well kept house. When he tries to make you believe that we are all womanizers, I’ll show you a man who respects women. When he tries to show you that men are helpless, idiotic, selfish and only think with their little head, I’ll show you a man who doesn’t need a woman to take care of him like a mother, but a man who wants a woman to share his life with.

Sitcom Man…you are going down!

Who’s your favorite Sitcom Man and what image does he portray of men?