I agree. It was a little jarring for me to readIn Scandinavian context and in particular Swedish context, a husband defining himself as "the breadwinner of the family" is considered a conservative statement and something very few Swedish husbands would dream about saying out loud.
In Sweden it is very common for men to define themselves as feminists.
In that light while some, in Sweden in particular, might fume at what Chris said, I personally can't help chuckle because I find it delightfully politically incorrect.- And honest.
This has got nothing to do with Chris being "a sexist pig" or name calling or conservative being a bad thing. It's merely how I look at and interprete what he said based on my cultural background.
- And surely I know better what I mean when I write something, eh?
Very foreign and "old" to me. Not blaming him or saying that is not their choice. But the use of the words are very non-swedish as you say!
That's probably because he is conservative.
And that does not surprise me at all!
He is the type of man who comes home from work. Kiss his wife who is waiting for him with the dinner. Then he'll play a little with the children before putting on his slippers and evening jacket.
All he needs is a pipe, a newspaper and the wireless next to the armchair he is sitting in. He would fit in perfectly in a middle class home anno 1955.
I think the role as a husband to a royal would not suit him well. In that respect he would find a kindred spirit in Prince Henrik in DK!
While Daniel is well suited to the more egalitarian role he has.
I will also, like you it seems, maintain that Chris O'Neil would find Sweden a trifle too socialist for his taste, not least tax-wise.
But at least he has explained the reasons behind what is being done, whether one agrees with them or not. He is simply arch-conservative.
In the eyes of Chris O'Neil, he is the breadwinner, when he gets a new job, the family moves along and that's it! Madeleine may be a princess, but in his eyes, she is first and foremost Mrs. O'Neil and mother to his children. Whether that has really dawned on her yet remains to be seen.
I don't see him as arch-conservative either. What has he ever said or done in his life that would give anyone that idea?
His lifestyle and comments are VERY conservative here in Sweden.
I have my own ideas about what constitutes conservatism and Christopher O'Neill falls short on almost every level.
I agree. I understand why he said it, as a smooth way to comment on if they live on taxpayer money. And I'm not complaining on him being conservative. Just pointing out that he is seen as that in our culture.
That's probably because he is conservative.
And that does not surprise me at all!
He is the type of man who comes home from work. Kiss his wife who is waiting for him with the dinner. Then he'll play a little with the children before putting on his slippers and evening jacket.
All he needs is a pipe, a newspaper and the wireless next to the armchair he is sitting in. He would fit in perfectly in a middle class home anno 1955.
I think the role as a husband to a royal would not suit him well. In that respect he would find a kindred spirit in Prince Henrik in DK!
While Daniel is well suited to the more egalitarian role he has.
I will also, like you it seems, maintain that Chris O'Neil would find Sweden a trifle too socialist for his taste, not least tax-wise.
But at least he has explained the reasons behind what is being done, whether one agrees with them or not. He is simply arch-conservative.
In the eyes of Chris O'Neil, he is the breadwinner, when he gets a new job, the family moves along and that's it! Madeleine may be a princess, but in his eyes, she is first and foremost Mrs. O'Neil and mother to his children. Whether that has really dawned on her yet remains to be seen.
Indeed, Muhler and thank you for sharing insights into your own and Mr. O'Neill's cultural (I will not use the word 'sexist' because clearly culture is at play here and not gender!) makeup! Spending two weeks in Aarhus, a Danish city that seems lifted straight out of the 1950's, I am indeed curious about cultural role playing in Danish society. I like the egalitarian style that I am seeing, but wonder about the uniformity here...is there a pressure to be like every one else or is individuality encouraged?In Scandinavian context and in particular Swedish context, a husband defining himself as "the breadwinner of the family" is considered a conservative statement and something very few Swedish husbands would dream about saying out loud.
In Sweden it is very common for men to define themselves as feminists.
In that light while some, in Sweden in particular, might fume at what Chris said, I personally can't help chuckle because I find it delightfully politically incorrect.
This has got nothing to do with Chris being "a sexist pig" or name calling or conservative being a bad thing. It's merely how I look at and interprete what he said based on my cultural background.
- And surely I know better what I mean when I write something, eh?
Why should he clash?
He could easily clash if he says or does something considered non-feminist. People are able to accept different opinions ofc, but it doesn't mean that people like it! And if HE can be seen as the more conservative in a royal family, that tells alot since royal families are ussually in the more conservative end of the spectrum.
Indeed, Muhler and thank you for sharing insights into your own and Mr. O'Neill's cultural (I will not use the word 'sexist' because clearly culture is at play here and not gender!) makeup! Spending two weeks in Aarhus, a Danish city that seems lifted straight out of the 1950's, I am indeed curious about cultural role playing in Danish society. I like the egalitarian style that I am seeing, but wonder about the uniformity here...is there a pressure to be like every one else or is individuality encouraged?
By the way, Moesgaard museum is a treasure box!
) there is a fish-restaurant at a quay in the harbor there. The fishing boats offload some of their catch at the kitchen side so the fish are literally hardly dead when they are being served and they are big!
And that is it in a nutshell. Chris is not Swedish and I would venture to say that neither he nor Madeleine had given it much thought because the topic had yet to arise. The intense scrutiny of his private life, down to his penchant for collect watches, must have been mind blowing. I think he thought he could do his job from Stockholm and actually believe they thought it would work as well.
I too agree with Muhler in that
Honest, yes, absolutely. But what I have yet to discover is why Chris's culture cannot be accepted as valid and the hostility is reduced to infantile insults calling him at best, conservative and at worst, a male chauvinist pig! Wow, just wow. Seems to me there is a lot of "my way or the highway" going on here.
Yes, I agree that their logic is sound
I don't look down on him or his culture. But this is a kind of "relationship" between Chris and the Swedish people and we all know how hard it is when different cultures in a relationship start crashing together. So it's only natural that now "we" are working out a few kinks until "we both" understand each others cultures more and can find a nice balance. I honestly both understand and respect their choice, it was just a bit of an awakening to how big the culture difference actually is, and I think that might have been what they were going through as well.
Was that a jab at us or Swedes in general? We very much said we accepted it but that it differs alot from our general experiences. That is not at all non-tolerant.
