car mess

I was driving the kids somewhere the other day and while sitting at a traffic light, started thinking about the mess the car was in. Trash everywhere. Zach's sports equipment covering the floor. There was a tennis racquet, a light saber, numchucks, some soccer socks. Old juice boxes, sports drink bottles and granola bar wrappers. Books and papers full of drawings. Hockey pants. A water bottle. If someone were to analyze the family that drove this car, not only were they slobs, but I guess in a good way, they were obviously active - witness all the sports stuff - used too. And I guess you could say the family was creative - the papers full of drawings. And then maybe that the family had young kids who liked to read - the books. I read an article this past year about a woman who was doing an analysis on the contents of people's cars. She hadn't revealed her hypothesis yet, but if she did many multiple kid family's cars, I'm sure she found about the same thing - active chaos.
So then after analyzing our mess, I thought why is it that if you see a dad get out of a messy car, you feel for him. You think, what a great dad, taking care of the kids. And you ignore the mess in the car because it's almost expected. Now picture a mom getting out of this messy car with kids in tow, and if you are a mom, you might feel sorry for her or feel kinship with the mom. Now instead, you see a woman coming out with no kids in sight. You see the mess of the car, and you wonder what her problem is. Why is this woman such a slob! You know what I mean? A guy could get out of a messy car (with kids or not) and you don't think much of it. A girl gets out of a messy car and you think she has problems. What is it in our female brains that makes mess stand out so much? And riddle you with guilt? Even if you invite someone to your house, if the house is a mess, it's reflected on who? The mom or the wife. She can't take care of her household. She's on a sinking ship and obviously can't captain.