RUSH: In a truly pathetic news story, this is deeply troubling. We have been talking recently on this program about the chickification of American culture, the feminization of American universities, the chickification of the news business. From the Associated Press, this a story by Melissa Dutton, and this is about man showers. Brian, you went to one of these just last week, a man shower. ”Man showers’ become popular for pre-wedding male bonding’ — When Jonathan Morris’ daughter was planning her wedding, he thought the groom was getting overlooked. So he planned a guys-only ‘man shower’ to welcome Brian Wigand into the family. The party included manly snacks, games and gifts. ‘It seemed like there was a lot of hoopla for the ladies and not too much for the guys,’ said Morris of Maple Valley, Wash. ‘It was really fun, male bonding.’ Showers geared to grooms are a growing trend in the wedding industry, said Allana Baroni, the entertainment expert.’ Have you heard about this, Snerdley? This is a growing trend?Other than Brian going to a baby shower, I’ve not heard of a growing trend in man showers. Of course, I don’t keep up with weddings much, don’t go to too many. (interruption) Yeah, that’s true. It was a couples shower, but you still went. ‘Showers geared to grooms are a growing trend in the wedding industry,’ says a woman, Allana Baroni. ‘It’s another example of grooms leaving their stereotypical roles behind, she said, noting that male bridesmaids and female groomsmen are becoming more common. That doesn’t mean they’re abandoning tradition. For Rob Wise, the man shower was a warm-up to, not a substitute for, the bachelor party. ‘It was precursor, a chance to get the guys together and let off a little steam,’ he said. Highlights of the party included playing football, drinking games and Rock Band, a video game where players perform in virtual bands.’ No, there’s no stripper. I guess the stripper is the bachelor party. But we don’t hear anything about the bachelor party in this story. We only hear about the man shower.”First and foremost, it was getting all my friends together in one place,’ the Baton Rouge, La., resident said. ‘It meant a lot for everyone to mingle before they got to the wedding.” But get this. This is what did it for me in this story: ”Men also are recognizing that showers are a great way to acquire tools and other necessities needed to maintain a home,’ said Abby Buford,’ another woman, ‘spokeswoman for Lowe’s Home Improvement stores, which launched an online wedding registry in 2006.’ So the purpose of the man shower is to teach men how to do housecleaning. Great way to acquire tools and other necessities needed to maintain a home. So anyway, man showers, if you have a son who is soon to be getting married, don’t be surprised if someone comes along and says, ‘We gotta throw a shower for the groom, too,’ in addition to the bachelor party. And note that this is an idea straight out of the female brain, by a wedding planner. Would you do one, Snerdley, if you were going to get married, would you? (laughter).BREAK TRANSCRIPTRUSH: Here’s Madam X. Madam X in Worcester, Massachusetts, as we go back to the phones. It’s great to have you with us on the EIB Network. Hi. CALLER: Rush, it’s great to talk with you. God bless ya.
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: Well, your opening monologue, you were talking about boy-girl baby showers and mixed-gender wedding party attendants and all that. Well, I have two family members, God bless them, that did exactly that, and the first one was the mixed-gender wedding party and my daughter —
RUSH: Now, wait a second. What is…? Can we speak English here?
CALLER: Oh?
RUSH: What is a ‘mixed-gender wedding party’?
CALLER: Well, the groom had a best babe instead of a best man, and she had —
RUSH: Oh, oh. When you said ‘party,’ I thought you meant like a pre-wedding bash.
CALLER: No, no, no, no, no.
RUSH: So she had a mixed-gender ceremony.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: And the groom had a best babe?
CALLER: That’s right.
RUSH: Oh, we’re in trouble.
CALLER: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But she wasn’t dressed differently —
RUSH: Let me tell you something. If I were going to get — God strike me dead — married again, and I told the lucky woman that my best man was going to be a woman, I can’t imagine. I can’t imagine that going over with a lot of happiness. ‘Oh, yeah, great idea! Let’s drink to it.’
CALLER: My daughter, she’s beautiful and intelligent, but she is the victim of a very, very liberal education, and when this metrosexual came along and wanted to marry her, she just thought it was great.
RUSH: Right, ’cause she could run the guy.
CALLER: Uh, hmm. Eh. Not really. You know, it’s more the other way around, truly.
RUSH: Oh, the metrosexual runs her.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: I never knew a metrosexual that ran anybody.
CALLER: This one does, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he holds his wine glass by the base.
RUSH: Holds his wine glass by the base?
CALLER: The base, not the stem or the bowl, but the base.
RUSH: Oh, isn’t that just peachy.
CALLER: Oh, yeah, yeah. He’s kind of femme, actually.
RUSH: He’s what?
CALLER: Femme.
RUSH: Kind of femme?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Like, as in effeminate?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Yeah. And your daughter fell for the guy?
CALLER: I don’t get it, I just don’t get it.
RUSH: So, did you say anything to her about it?
CALLER: Uh, (snorts) not directly. Not directly. But he has a bunch of friends —
RUSH: If you didn’t say anything directly, how did you say it, and to whom?
CALLER: Well, I talked to my husband, and —
RUSH: Did he talk to them?
CALLER: And he talked to her.
RUSH: Yeah? And a lot of good that did because they’re now married, right?
CALLER: That’s right, yeah.
RUSH: Are they happily married?
CALLER: Apparently so.
RUSH: What do you mean, apparently so? They either are or they aren’t. You should be able to tell this; you’re a parent.
CALLER: Well, see, that’s the thing, Rush, is that it’s all so confusing to me.
RUSH: And you think the mixed-gender wedding led to this?
CALLER: Well, no, no. I think that whatever is up with him and the liberalism in this state-led up to the formation of these two, and the meeting of these two, and the OK for this mixed-gender wedding attendants thing.
RUSH: Yeah, I know. It is what it is. Traditions die hard. You know, there’s a lot more than just this part of our culture that’s under assault — and you know what those things are. Anyway, look, I appreciate the call, Madam X. Madam X? Has she called here before, Snerdley? A long time ago. Okay, I thought Madam X was familiar.