The ideal lawn as the top status symbol for men in America

Gutfeld! – Thursday, July 9th

Greg Gutfeld takes a satirical look at the day’s news, blending it with pop culture and his perspective on current headlines.

This week, I felt a strange sense of pride as the Wall Street Journal released an article entitled, “Why Office Workers Are Obsessed with the Perfect Lawn.” I mean, as the founder of the Thursday Night Lawn Mowing Alliance, could I not feel validated?

Calum Borchers, the reporter, suggests that for many office workers—mostly middle-aged men—a well-kept lawn is as significant a status symbol as a fancy car parked out front.

It’s fascinating to see how this league is ahead of the cultural curve. It was about a year before the Journal would report on how mowing on a Thursday night represents the pinnacle of adult discipline.

A while back, in a 2011 piece for Psychology Today, clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis addressed this unusual mowing phenomenon. Michaelis proposed that these expressions of creativity stem from the male psyche. He noted, “I believe that all people are created to create. The urge to express oneself creatively often fades after childhood, especially for men who don’t see themselves as artistic. For many, the front yard becomes a kind of canvas for this suppressed creative energy.”

In essence, whether they wear white collars or blue, men who obsess over their lawns reveal their desire to care for the world. The lawn transforms into art, sport, competition—it becomes a source of joy.

There’s some interesting research suggesting that even the scent of freshly cut grass can affect the brain like a drug.

Take Dr. Nick Lavidis from the University of Queensland, who, back in 2009, devised a grass-scented spray marketed as a stress reliever. This idea was born after his visit to Yosemite National Park. “Three days in the park felt like a three-month vacation,” he explained. “At that time, I had no clue how the mix of calming chemicals from pine trees and grass clippings would relax me so profoundly.”

His realization came on the heels of a neighbor’s compliment about the delightful smell after he’d mowed her lawn.

The notion that a beautiful lawn conveys prestige isn’t really new in the U.S. In fact, Time magazine highlighted this growth as far back as August 2, 1954, associating it with the DIY industry and its impact on the mental well-being of American men.

A Time reporter once noted the considerable therapeutic value linked to do-it-yourself tasks. A Dallas physician, who also engages in DIY projects, frequently encourages his patients to tackle home tasks themselves.

It’s like carrying on a tradition. Mowing not only triggers a dopamine release that boosts mental health but also honors the legacy of our fathers and grandfathers who embraced this task as a means of freedom.