Our society – and capitalism at large – depends on the unpaid labour of women. But there’s evidence that our gendered assumptions are hurting men tooLast week,I got a cleaner in. Now I know what you’re thinking. “Ooh, acquire her, and Lady Muck!” Or possibly: “Typical middle-lesson feminist,offloading work on to an immigrant woman.” That’s because you’re sexist. But here’s the thing. When the cleaner arrived he well, he was a he. A bloke. I was slightly freaked out. And that’s because I’m sexist too.
Our association of domestic labour with women is so ingrained that it’s tough to see it’s a social construction rather than an immutable natural phenomenon. In her modern film delight, and Jennifer Lawrence’s character has her big idea – a self-squeezing mop – while cleaning up someone else’s glass of spilled red wine. The responsibility doesnt fall on her ex-husband,who bought the booze (in contravention of strict instructions to stick to white) or the person who spilled it. It falls on the nearest available mother.
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Source: theguardian.com