Man is smart,woman smarter

For the last few weeks there has been a constant refrain among a lot of relatives and friends of what a great daughter I am,except that it doesn't end there(i would have considered this a compliment and been happy)its more often than not followed by"you are like a son they never had" or "youre the man of the house" and so on.The references to being like a man or a son gets on my nerves,as it implies that a daughter however much she does is just not good enough.I gave a lot of thought to why people say this.Is it an overriding belief that boys or rather sons are an asset and the ones who are expected to look after parents in old age,does it stem from the fact that only men are allowed to light the funeral pyre.Whatever may be the reason its so deep rooted that no one considers it offensive to tell a woman how much of a man she is.
I decided then to do some checking.Do sons really look after their parents,do the make the sacrifices that daughters make(without grumbling or going on about it),maybe after all there is some truth behind this blind faith.
A cross section of women with brothers was asked who looks after their parents.In addition I have been studying the behaviour patterns of patients in hospitals Take a look at most of the old people who come on doctors visits and one is sure to find that 90% of them are accompanied by daughters and not sons.Most of my immediate circle of friends look after one or more of their parents and not because they don't have brothers.The boys assume that their careers are more important,their wives and children more important and so the story goes.Do they contribute to the financial security of the parents,well in some cases yes(the easiest thing to do is to write a cheque)and in most cases no.Why then this blind faith and constant reference to the boys.My mother is no exception.Despite everything that we daughters do,she will always believe that she lost out by not having a son.
I believe we as society are to blame for all of this,we treat our boys differently and despite all our education and exposure we are fed on soap operas which show women as the meek and mild ones,constantly being beaten up by husbands or being a burden on families because they cant be married off.Utter load of rubbish that rakes in wild trps and profits for television companies and in the process undermining everything that we women have worked so hard to achieve.The irony is that most of these serials are made by highly successful women.That's the irony of our day and age and I wonder if the next generation will be the same way.....I am still wondering and to those who think that I am as good as a son let me assure that I consider that insulting.I am a good daughter and a damn good woman and if anyone needs to be compared let it be a man for once.