Holidays in particular bring out a weird cultural anxiety about various social roles - for example, around Fathers' Day the various culturally approved versions of masculinity get a read working-out - and the disjunction between those roles and my own life are like grit in work gloves. Not because I feel the difference in myself as lack - but because it's so irritating to see the way all the cultural engines rev up in unison to support the notion that fathers (and by extension, all men) must like sports, must be interested in electronic gear and gadgets, etc. For example, at Target's website, the main categories under which gifts "for him" are categorized: Gadgets + Gizmos, Sports + Games, Outdoors, Electronics, Watches, and Unique Gifts. Walk into nearly any bookstore, for example, and see how magazines are categorized by gender.
Ah well - gotta take care of some burgers on the barbecue and grab a couple beers before watching "Spike TV"...
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I'm with you. I was all excited when I first heard the name "Spike TV", until I found out it had nothing to do with the Buffyverse at all.
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