is "pink Think" Making Me paranoid?

There are two girls in my Pilates class that--

You're taking a Pilates class?  Ooh, that's interesting.

That's not the point.  Like I was saying, these two girls--

What kind of stuff have you done so far in your class?

Focus! I talk to these two girls before class starts. At first it was cool. They seemed normal, down-to-earth, regular people.

Unlike the other people in your class, huh?

Exactly. Now stop that. Back to these two girls...
I thought we had things in common. Two of us are studying art and we've all been married less than a year. But then it became apparent that the girl studying art is only studying art because it's a nice thing to do. By this I mean, she has no interest in mingling with other artists at shows or galleries, or even improving her skills as a professional. Her husband is a lawyer and so, as would be naturally assumed in Utah Valley, she'll never have to work. So, she studies art because it's nice and she won't have to think hard about icky things like math or science or history.

Well, there go all the great conversations I thought we could have about Braque vs. Picasso and the current show at the University's Art Museum. All this information in my head and no one to talk to about it. Cryin' shame.

That's not even the worst part.

What's the worst part?

I'll tell you. And stop that. The worst part is when they start talking about their husbands. All of the sudden they go from being unique and engaging individuals to conformist-Utah-Valley-Mormon "wives."

Freaks. Me. Out.

I live in Utah Valley. I'm Mormon. I'm a wife. You'd think I'd be able to relate. But something bigger, more sinister, happens to these girls when they go into "wife-mode" that I can't understand at all. They start chatting about cooking and cleaning and house-keeping and sewing and their husband's interests. Did you catch that? Their husband's interests. Not their own. (maybe they have no interests outside of house-wifery, who can tell?)

Do they not realize they're conforming to a stereotype that feminists have been railing against for decades? That women in general have been railing against in Western Society for centuries??

Admittedly, I just read "Pink Think" and it's got me on edge and generally freaked out about women's roles in America. I'm probably over-reacting.

Or am I?

One girl (the one "studying" art, incidentally) told me how she was going to surprise her husband for their six month anniversary: she had plans to make his favorite food and have a candle-lit dinner together. (oh how sweet. oh how cliche. i hope you have a lovely evening, i really do) That's great, really, I have nothing against that, but she just kept going on and on about it. Then she told me how she did the same thing to celebrate their two month anniversary (two months? really? since when does that count as an "anniversary"??) and went on to tell me that I should do the same thing for my husband.

Insert a blank stare here. I know you can't see it, but just do your best to imagine it.

Or...he could surprise me with a candlelight dinner. *shrug* I'm not hinting at anything, I'm just saying that's also an option. A legitimate and feasible option.Right now I'm out of the home 60 hrs/week working and going to school, and he's only out 30 hrs/week so, technically, it might make more sense if he did the surprising. Again, I'm not hinting at anything (i don't want a candle-light dinner), I'm just making a point that has probably never crossed her Utah Valley mind.

As soon as she starts up with the husband-talk the other one jumps right in and it's impossible to divert them to other topics. They keep trying to suck me into the conversation, guess they don't want me to feel left out, but their conversation has a tendency to induce heavy waves of nausea and it's better for me to sit alone in the corner and concentrate on breathing.

Would it really be that terrible to make your husband dinner to surprise him, just once?

Stop that!