About now we’re threatening to have more hands than Durga of Hindu fame, but I mentioned in my last post that the book Where the Girls Are is irritating whether femme or anti-femme, and I wanted to mention some of my irritations with the book in order to balance out the last post.
Two things.
Although, they’re actually connected.
The first being: isn’t it kind of hypocritical to say that women should be allowed some say in their future and then make snarky remarks about the “overly fertile” women with their arms full of babies? I mean, sure, if we were living in a culture where women were forced to have 12 children or be beaten with sticks, but isn’t the average American family size at like 1.7 children per family? Excluding cults and other sticky situations, don’t we sort of have to assume at this point that if a woman has 5 children it’s because she decided to have a large family? Hypocritical and stupid. If you want to know what I think.
Also: pretty sure that if I read one more remark about the “drudgery” of housework, one more reference to meatloaf, I’m going to be sicky on the page. God forbid an enlightened woman would actually enjoy cooking. Although, of course, I get the point she’s trying to make: women have importance beyond their ability to bake or do housework. But, housework really isn’t mindless drudgery, invented by some sadistic MAN.
For real. I would clean, do laundry, and try out new recipes whether or not I’d married. That’s what being an adult is about, right? Taking care of yourself and your living space? I’d be peeved if I was told that my ability to cook or clean defined my worth as a human being (or wife), but to throw out all housework and cooking as “drudgery” is ridiculous. It only becomes drudgery when one is either forced to uphold unrealistic standards or receives no assistance or appreciation.
So, there you have it. My two latest pet peeves with this book and feminism in general.
If you want yet another hand, though, Carl showed me this video on youtube today, a pastiche of commentators and “experts” on Arabic news channels discussing the acceptable, Koran and commonsense-approved times to beat your wife.
… for those of you who feel that feminism is pointless since women are all liberated and stuff.
Kathryn & Carl 