3 ms·

Is eating bonbons on the chaise really so bad?

gknoy 5y ago
It looks like you're getting downvoted, but I think it's clear that the woman's perceived role at the time was NOT just eating bonbons. I think the fact that the cartoon portrays this in comedy and exaggerated form (just as the man's car is comically Too Small, and his "built to last" house's door falls off) underscores that the woman's role was perceived to be _infinite housework_ (rather than, say, coming home from _her_ job). Consider that her "help" includes the man washing a floor. In contrast, the wife (now relaxing) has handled dishes, meal planning + prep, laundry, ironing -- and the appliances there are portrayed as making that all that work take less time. As someone with all those tools now, I can confirm that I have a hard time even keeping up with what housework I notice needs doing, let alone all the work that my wife does (and arguably should have to do less of). It feels like that implied portrayal of "wife sits at home goofing off all day because machines do all the real work" couldn't be the norm.
- kelseyfrog 5y ago
  > that implied portrayal of "wife sits at home goofing off all day because machines do all the real work" couldn't be the norm. The history of women's work is a history of unpaid labor. The reality maintenance machinery supporting this is powerful. From devaluing industries which see a change in gender participation, to not classifying certain tasks as labor, the mechanisms of maintenance range from insidious to ridiculous. Understanding what happens if that reality is not maintained is important to understanding why it is maintained.
moskie 5y ago
The issue being that it isn't an accurate representation of the lived experiences of women at the time. It is my instead the perceived experiences of women from the perspective of misogynists.
- biofox 5y ago
  Misogynist is a little anachronistic here, given this was the societal norm.
  - whimsicalism 5y ago
    That is just not what an anachronism is...
    - biofox 5y ago
      In which case, I've been using that term incorrectly for a long time. What's the correct use? Can you give an example?

It looks like you're getting downvoted, but I think it's clear that the woman's perceived role at the time was NOT just eating bonbons. I think the fact that the cartoon portrays this in comedy and exaggerated form (just as the man's car is comically Too Small, and his "built to last" house's door falls off) underscores that the woman's role was perceived to be _infinite housework_ (rather than, say, coming home from _her_ job). Consider that her "help" includes the man washing a floor. In contrast, the wife (now relaxing) has handled dishes, meal planning + prep, laundry, ironing -- and the appliances there are portrayed as making that all that work take less time. As someone with all those tools now, I can confirm that I have a hard time even keeping up with what housework I notice needs doing, let alone all the work that my wife does (and arguably should have to do less of). It feels like that implied portrayal of "wife sits at home goofing off all day because machines do all the real work" couldn't be the norm.

kelseyfrog 5y ago
> that implied portrayal of "wife sits at home goofing off all day because machines do all the real work" couldn't be the norm. The history of women's work is a history of unpaid labor. The reality maintenance machinery supporting this is powerful. From devaluing industries which see a change in gender participation, to not classifying certain tasks as labor, the mechanisms of maintenance range from insidious to ridiculous. Understanding what happens if that reality is not maintained is important to understanding why it is maintained.

moskie 5y ago

The issue being that it isn't an accurate representation of the lived experiences of women at the time. It is my instead the perceived experiences of women from the perspective of misogynists.

biofox 5y ago
Misogynist is a little anachronistic here, given this was the societal norm.
- whimsicalism 5y ago
  That is just not what an anachronism is...
  - biofox 5y ago
    In which case, I've been using that term incorrectly for a long time. What's the correct use? Can you give an example?