tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post5128670979644114264..comments2024-03-28T08:02:30.057-04:00Comments on Word-Whores: Division of LaborK.A. Krantzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06674754426001151828noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-2614582127734651602012-05-07T23:44:59.732-04:002012-05-07T23:44:59.732-04:00PalOz - I'm catching up after being away, so I...PalOz - I'm catching up after being away, so I'm a little late, but I so admire you for breaking out of that. So glad you're happy now!!Jeffe Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04779020656676094853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-71710415795019482282012-05-05T03:38:08.943-04:002012-05-05T03:38:08.943-04:00Hooo, this is one of my hot buttons. Coming from I...Hooo, this is one of my hot buttons. Coming from India I can totally tell you cooking & cleaning is hammered into girls right from get-go. Unfortunately for me, my parents are non-traditionalists and the men I met are.. well, not. So, what I got from every single boy I dated (I refuse to cal them "man") is: sure have a career as long as you make sure the house is perfectly taken care of.... No surprise then that I'm divorced and happy now than I ever was..Pal0zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11578679625543177632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-4290814408140124102012-05-04T21:25:49.962-04:002012-05-04T21:25:49.962-04:00So interesting about your switching. I think you&#...So interesting about your switching. I think you're onto something with what you grew with being modeled having a lot of influence. Incidentally, I, too, am eldest of daughters and surrogate son!! I tagged around with my handy dad, though not enough, now that I am a homeowner. My husband had a non handy dad who fixed stuff by picking up the phone and calling somebody, and so my man knows nothing about fixing anything. So our roles now are: I fix the stuff, but somehow, feel like I'm doing what he should be doing. LIke dad!! But he does other manly things. like lifting heavy stuff, so that makes up for it. LOL. (kind of joking, but not really!) In terms of housework, we are utterly egalitarian. I think it helps not to have kids. I think our gender roles would've split more traditionally had we had kids. <br /><br />LG: So many people don't get that 1960s feminism was rooted in fighting to protect the rights of "housewives". Totally agree, it's all about choice.Carolyn Cranehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17195853833116263029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-52051752964122146632012-05-04T20:07:00.420-04:002012-05-04T20:07:00.420-04:00L.G. - I'm with you. Having the option to be t...L.G. - I'm with you. Having the option to be the house manager (I cannot abide the term 'housewife' - as if I'd married the damned house) or the option to go back to work as a techie? Priceless. All praise to our foremothers for fighting the good fight.<br /><br />L. - I feel like society has always valued some really questionable stuff. There's this total inability to take someone on his or her merits. You're a woman who knows who she is, what she likes, and what she doesn't. That puts you light years ahead of most women who haven't examined their assumptions about what society expects versus what makes sense for their individual lives.Marcella Burnardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061631584953668058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-72740868000060104632012-05-04T14:35:04.942-04:002012-05-04T14:35:04.942-04:00I have never been a good housekeeper. I probably n...I have never been a good housekeeper. I probably never will be. I simply do not care how thick the dust is. Society's plenty ready to tell me I fail at being female for that, but it's no different that my failures for being nerdy, not afraid of spiders, fat, and not particularly pretty.blankenship.louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05541461775158369620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-88834625833332569542012-05-04T11:53:02.400-04:002012-05-04T11:53:02.400-04:00We had this debate a lot when I was in college (I ...We had this debate a lot when I was in college (I studied writing, philosophy, and women's studies, which means I'll never be rich but I can have a lively debate). I think ultimately both biology and society are powerful forces that shape us whether we want that to be the case or not. Maybe women are more likely to be happy as caretakers of the house because we, after all, are the ones who give birth. It's nature's way of making sure those important jobs get taken care of as well, and cleaning can theoretically get done while taking care of a baby. I say this because I have two children, and cleaning only seems to get done after they go to bed. Then, if we don't do what certain segments of society expect us to do, we feel the pressure to conform.<br /><br />I think it's wrong to assume taking care of the home runs counter to feminism. For me, feminism is about having the choice. If you want a job outside the home, fine. If you'd rather stay home and take care of those responsibilities, fine. People should do what works best for their families. Right now, I'm staying home, taking care of the kids, and writing as much as I can.<br /><br />Cleaning isn't "women's work" as that young man, and many others, claim. It's the job of whoever is there to do it.<br /><br />Wow. I said way more than I planned. That's happens a lot with me.L.G. Keltnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07624902347418621283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-66217902397136655052012-05-04T11:45:34.559-04:002012-05-04T11:45:34.559-04:00Really? I could see where menopausal symptoms coul...Really? I could see where menopausal symptoms could make you not give a flying flip about much of anything. Do you feel like that's the issue, Julie? Or does it feel broader than that?Marcella Burnardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061631584953668058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7663321286319002443.post-63043528531348694172012-05-04T11:40:03.646-04:002012-05-04T11:40:03.646-04:00Good questions. Wish I had the answers. I will say...Good questions. Wish I had the answers. I will say that in the last year since my estrogen has plummeted I don't care as much about cleaning.<br />JulieSamanthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06516915633930505507noreply@blogger.com