Military Husbands Like To Party Too...

I know we’re still many weeks away from Christmas, we haven’t even had Halloween or Bonfire night yet, but I’m already starting to see people getting excited about ‘silly season’ - this is how the military describe that few weeks in the run up to Christmas, when there are parties going off everywhere...

Now there are loads of events and parties for serving people, however there are also parties for the partners as well. I’ve seen a few posters around advertising them already, which is nice, however I can’t help but notice the target audience for these parties...

Here are a few examples...

‘A Wifes Bubbly Christmas'

‘The Great Gatsby 1PWRR Wives Christmas Party'

‘3 Battalion Wives Christmas Party'

I think you know where I’m going with this... All of these parties appear to be for the wives of the serving personnel... But what about the husbands?

There are two ways you could look at this...

Number one...

These events ARE aimed solely at the wives, which is fine if that’s the intention, it’s basically saying “sorry husbands you’re not welcome."

If this is the case though, why? The husbands are in exactly the same position as the wives, our partner is also serving and we like a good party too!

Also, if it is aimed solely at the wives, does it mean that my wife (who is serving) is invited instead of me?

Number two...

The person planning the event really means ‘spouses' and that all partners of serving personnel are invited, which includes the husband as well...

I personally believe it is number two, mainly because I do get invited to events like these all the time and I’m often told something along the lines of "I know it says wives but really it’s for everybody”. If that is the case though, why not change the reference to spouse instead? It really puts the husbands off when these are described as ‘wives events’, it doesn’t feel very inclusive and welcoming.

Also if I did go along and got involved in the secret santa, would I receive a gift which was meant for a woman? Do I need to buy a gift that is meant for a woman?

Lastly, these days not everybody gets married so shouldn’t we be using the term ‘partner’ which covers all bases and includes those unmarried couples too?

So many questions!

Wouldn’t it just be easier if we just called these parties, ‘Christmas Parties’ that are open and inclusive to all spouses and partners of serving personnel?