Big A is a great feminist partner. He understands my compulsion to make terms as neutral as possible, especially around the children.
One of my early conversations with him (with most people, probably--I'm annoying like that) is the use of terms like "wife" and "husband" and the gendered expectations they set up. How to be a good wife engenders very different responses (usually) from how to be a good husband. I prefer the idea of being a good partner, a good spouse.
I think it says so much about Big A that he took the irritating (because somewhat infantilizing, dismissive) slogan "Happy wife; happy life" and fixed it. We say, "Happy spouse; happy house."
All this is to establish that Big A was not going to use the word "bitch" in front of the kids at dinner (or ever) when he started off riffing on the Ice-T/Jay-Z line. I
wonder what he was going to say. Because this is what happened:
Big A: I got 99 problems, but...
Nu: (Interjecting) That's a lot!
Stares at her family as they collapse in laughter.
Fin.
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