From the way they get ready in the mornings to how they get ready for bed at night, men and women have always been different; and they are usually taught these differences by their families and the way they were raised. Barry's comical satire reveals how different cultures and traditions in familes can be. In his column, “Time Out!” he uses generalizations, examples, and sarcasm to hilariously describe, in his opinion, the major differences in men and women in today’s society.
Barry uses generalizations in his column to express how different-not only men and women- but entire American households in general can be. Coming from a “WASP” household, he was born and raised to “follow schedules strictly.” Where he comes from, people arrived at least twenty minutes early, and arriving any later than that had the potential to ruin the entire day. Not only does he realize that his family was like this, but he firmly believes that every other American WASP family was the same. His wife, however, was raised in a “Cuban” home, where “the phrase ‘2 pm’ [can be] translated as ‘possibly this weekend.’” He uses direct quotes to show how he and his wife’s families really are “opposites.” Where his family is super strict and punctual, hers better resembles a “just take it easy, relax, enjoy life as it comes, and roll with the punches” sort of attitude. However, the way he presents the differences in the family types makes it appear as if his way of life is normal, and every other family that varies from that path is just, “different.” His family and hers are complete opposites, begging the stereotypical theory that opposites really do attract since they apparently get along well enough to be married.
Barry’s examples establish the radical differences between men and women in a way the reader can better relate. Say he needs to catch a flight that’s “leaving at 4 pm,” he will factor in a “cushion” to allow time for things like “heavy traffic” or getting “kidnapped” and still be able to make it to the airport, ready to go by “7:14 am.” His jump from things like traffic problems to getting kidnapped draws the audiences’ attention to the effective hyperbole he used. Every time Barry mentions a situation where a person is extremely early/paranoid about time he is referring to a man, implying that men are the ones in society who are like “this,” not women. His wife on the other hand, being the “other kind of person,” would arrive at the airport when the plane is “halfway down the runway," still not feeling concerned at all about missing the flight. The hyperbole used explains the intentional extent in which his wife goes to, in his mind, to be late. He implies that women are the ones in society who are always running late, living without any notion of time.
The satirical sarcasm Barry uses opens the readers eyes as to how stereotypical men view the “normal” women’s grasp of time. When a man hears his wife say that she’s almost ready, she’s just “putting on [her] makeup,” he actually hears something more similar to “I’m very short! I’m 38 feet tall!” or “You can believe me! I’m Bill Clinton!” The way Barry juxtaposed the oh-so-obvious opposites puts emphasis on the fact that women can never get ready fast enough in men’s eyes. He relates about how, in his mind, society is full of overly punctual men and ditzy-headed women who are always running late for everything. He knows this sounds crazy though, so he gets a “scientific, statistically valid conclusion” by “talking to some guys about their wives” to prove his validity. Barry attempts to utilize logos and make the reader feel that his notions are true and legitimate, but turns around and admits how he didn’t get his information from valid sources and his entire argument is based on personal opinion.
The sweeping generalizations Barry makes emphasizes how drastically and radically different the two mindsets involved really are. Through his use of big generalizations, examples, and sarcasm Barry humorously enlightens the audience to his viewpoints of the stereotypical differences between men and women.
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