The weekend before Christmas is as good a time as any besides Black Friday to watch hordes of people shop. Shopping in crowded stores for Christmas presents — with the panicking, price-checking, hostility, and (sometimes) violence — has to be among the most stressful activities in America. Why do so many people buy into it? I’d rather be a sellout than a buyer.
In truth, I hate shopping any time of year. I don’t typically enjoy receiving gifts let alone buying them, and the only time I shop for myself is out of cold, joyless necessity. I’m not sure if it’s due to nature, socialization, or the childhood memory of spending three agonizing hours in Fashion Bug waiting for my mother to decide on a dress, but my shopping aversion is so profound that it has likely cost me a relationship or two. Advertisers should be given a medal if they can design an ad that will get me to shop. If the Church of Stop Shopping were an actual church, I would be there every Sunday.
My aversion extends to online shopping, which I was surprised to discover is not the favored method for men despite its convenience. I prefer it to shopping at a store except for the inconvenient truth that Amazon is a relentless and soulless monopoly that would likely replace all stores and human workers if it had its ugly way. It’s also easier to become addicted when you get the urge and all you need to satisfy it is a credit card and a few keystrokes.
Tens of millions of Americans are under the spell.
What defies the stereotype is that about half of all shopping addicts are men. I struggle to picture a man addicted to shopping: it’s far easier to picture a man addicted to drugs or pornography. Nonetheless, men are not immune to the shopping bug. While they may not splurge as much on clothes, cosmetics, and other small purchases, they compensate for this through big-ticket items, such as cars, yachts, club memberships, and vacations.
I consider it a tragedy of capitalism that men (and women) feel the need to purchase their way to a greater sense of self-worth or to spoil their children or partners to the point of bankruptcy. As a spoiled only-child who got everything he wanted on Christmas, I will assert that the best gifts cannot be purchased — not even on Amazon.
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Male Stereotype Number One: Men Don’t Cry
Male Stereotype Number Two: Men Don’t Ask for Directions
Male Stereotype Number Three: Men are Competitive
Male Stereotype Number Four: Men Don’t Cook
Male Stereotype Number Five: Men are Warriors
Male Stereotype Number Six: Men Are Clumsy
Male Stereotype Number Seven: Men Are Aggressive
Male Stereotype Number Eight: Men are Either Good or Evil
Male Stereotype Number Nine: Men Can’t Be Friends with Women
Male Stereotype Number Ten: Men are Strong
Male Stereotype Number 11: Men are Breadwinners
Male Stereotype Number 12: Men Don’t Refuse Sex
Male Stereotype Number 13: Men ‘Manspread’
Male Stereotype Number 14: Men ‘Mansplain’
Male Stereotype Number 15: Men Don’t Listen
Male Stereotype Number 16: Men Are Better Drivers
Male Stereotype Number 17: Men Like Porn
Male Stereotype Number 18: Men Don’t Do Therapy
Male Stereotype Number 19: Men Can’t Handle Commitment
Male Stereotype Number 20: Men Aren’t Feminists
Male Stereotype Number 21: Men Like Guns
Male Stereotype Number 22: Men Don’t Have Feelings
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https://pixabay.com/en/e-commerce-shopping-basket-shopping-402822/