TO SLEEP IS A MAN’S PRIVILEGE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 20 (Supplement)

TO SLEEP IS A MAN’S PRIVILEGE.

WOMAN WANTS TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON

Is it because men are less curious than women that they are able to relax and go to sleep in almost any old place? llow many times have you seen a woman asleep in the tube, in church, at the theatre, on a Pullman train or in a club.

To sleep, perchance to snore, is not stigmatised by men when one of their sex is caught in the act. There is a knowing smile or a “ poor fellow ” comment. But whoever caught a woman snoring in public, and if she should so far forget herself as to slumber where curious eyes might behold, would there be a word of sympathy or a thought of pity from others of her sex? Not if the sleeper was considered a social equal. Perhaps it is woman’s insistent curiosity that keeps her from relaxing in public places? She wishes to know what is going on, she wishes to see all that is going on about her, she wishes to appear always at her best, and is curious to note from the attitude of others about her whether she succeeds in so appearing. She is fearful that if she permits herself to relax she may drop into some awkward position ; horrors! Her lower jaw might drop a bit, and the muscles of her face weaken and thus fail to keep the pose that she has chosen for herself. One keen woman, an observer of her sex, when asked for the reason, drew the parallel between the cat and the dog. She asked, “ Did anyone ever notice a cat that went to sleep in a public place? Sometimes, when they are old, they pretend to sleep in some shop window, in some city suburb or small town, but even there they do not completely relax, for they are ready on the instant to combat the snooping dog or the unfriendly human. Railway express agents say that cats that are being transported can rarely, if ever, be found asleep in their boxes. But look j at the dog. “ The dog will go to sleep anywhere —just like a man. In a railway station they will drop into sound slumber, alongside of the road, oblivious of danger, in doorways, in public hallways, they must be kicked out of the way. They are asleep. The dog is not at all curious, except in a general way, but the cat must know what is going on.” The man who likes to sleep in front of the fire while the family is stirring all about is then closely akin to his age-old friend, the dog. Who, but a dog and a man, would go to sleep in church? The club is the haven of the men, who sleep in their chairs all undisturbed. Yes, men are the sleepy heads. (Anglo-American N.S. Copyright.)