What’s with the female double standard?!

Like most husbands, I’ve been busted sneaking a glimpse a time or two. Any man who claims he doesn’t look is lying – and I’d argue that lying is a far worse offence than glimpsing.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not hiding in the bushes wearing a trench coat and binoculars – but I don’t think it’s out of line to state that women are beautiful creatures and some are very adept at commanding male attention with hair styles, high fashion or other attributes.

My wife doesn’t agree with this rationale, however, and more than once I’ve been punched in the arm and / or subjected to a silent car ride home. And I’d like the record to show that I’ve been falsely accused on multiple occasions.

Getting caught staring is one thing, entrapment is quite another and every man knows what it’s like to be suckered in with a dangerous leading question.

Amanda: “Who do you think is sexier? Jennifer Aniston or Miley Cyrus?”

Me: “I think Jennifer Aniston is gorgeous.”

Amanda: “What, are you’re like obsessed with her?!”

At that point, logic no longer has a role in the conversation.

Which brings me to my point about the ridiculous double standard when it comes to men and women making observations about members of the opposite sex.

This weekend, my wife and I are joining some friends in Edmonton for the Luke Bryan concert at Rexall Place. For those of you unfamiliar, Luke Bryan is a popular young country music artist with a bit of a heart-throb reputation. He is also known for wearing absurdly tight pants during his live performances, which I’m told is a real hit with the ladies in attendance.

Let me just say, that if I spoke about any woman the way my wife and her friends talks about Luke Bryan, I’d be sleeping on the couch for a year!

Earlier this week, she was giggling about a naughty photo a friend of hers had snapped during a recent Luke Bryan performance in B.C. – needless to say, the photo did not feature Luke’s face.

Another of our female friends took things up a notch, posting on Facebook that she intended to ‘just stare at his junk’ when she saw him in concert.

Taking the moral high ground, I attempted to remind these over-heated females that Luke Bryan is a real person, with real feelings – and a wife – but they wouldn’t hear any of it.

Does any of this bother me? Should I be jealous? Should I be worried that handsome Luke is going to pluck my pretty wife out of the audience and whisk her away on his tour bus?

No, of course not. It’s all in good fun and it doesn’t bother me one bit.

But you can bet I will pull the Luke Bryan card next time I get busted turning my head at the shopping mall.

Leo Paré is a former Red Deer Advocate editor. Email him at newsdeadline@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LeoPare