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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

So is Christmas women's work then?

253 replies

Katisha · 22/12/2010 15:38

Following on from my thread here in which in would appear that left to their own deives most, (not all), men would hardly bother with Christmas at all, I would be interested to know why this is.

Is it because women do it all for them? Is it because only women want all the traditional food, decorations, visiting, card sending and frenzy of present buying?

Are women propping up some ridiculous commercial christmas industry and men are right to despise/ignore it?

Or what?

OP posts:
sixpercenttruejedi · 30/12/2010 00:38

my lived experience is that I don't feel subordinate or deserve to be, but I'm still faced with it, no matter how much I resist.

Katisha · 30/12/2010 00:36

But still doesn't answer my question of why the evidence seems to point to men generally not getting so involved in Christmas stuff, not caring about it to the same degree.

Trying to see why there is such a gender divide on this. And there is. (Caveat : With exceptions of course.)

OP posts:
scottishmummy · 30/12/2010 00:32

many women do xmas tasks because they want to.has significance and meaning.others hate it and is drudgery.like any set of choices the answer is complex and shaped by te individual.women arent homogeneous not all women find xmas a domestic drudge.some do,some dont

routinely reading mn i don't recognise a fair whack of aibu the my dp did this and that. doesn't lessen anyone else subjective experiences but doesn't make it mine either

Katisha · 30/12/2010 00:26

I don't think the issue here is whether or not those of us on the thread feel subordinate. I should imagine most, if not all of us, don't.

The issue is WHY (in this case) so many women take on huge amounts of domestic tasks, letting men absolve themselves of responsibilities. Sakura's point illustrates one possible answer. It's a general issue.

But specifically, I want to know why women take on so much responsibilty for Christmas preparations, and why men (generally speaking, there are always exceptions) don't do it to the same degree. And why they are allowed to get away with it.

OP posts:
scottishmummy · 30/12/2010 00:17

well indeed beertrickspotter,the assertion i am not suppressed is in itself defiance

scottishmummy · 30/12/2010 00:15

and repeatedly asserting some are subordinate doesn't negate others experiences of not feeling subordinate

the lived experience and interpretation is crucial here

i am not disputing many people feel oppressed but that isnt necessarily a perceived shared or common experience

the rub is we all perceive and experience situations/experiences differently.human condition,higher exceutive functioning and all that

BeerTricksPotter · 30/12/2010 00:11

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Katisha · 30/12/2010 00:00

The fact that you personally are not subordinate, scottishmummy, does not change the fact that many women in this world are, obviously.

Repeatedly saying "well I am not subordinate" doesn't make any difference to those that are.

And I think that what sakura was saying is that many women who don't actually have much power in the scheme of things (NOT YOU, nor indeed me) invent types of power for themselves, such as power over the arrangements for mealtimes and other domestic circumstances, and get very possessive and proud about them, thus perpetuating the whole women's work thing.

OP posts:
scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 23:51

what acceptance you referring to?

sixpercenttruejedi · 29/12/2010 23:48

Acknowledgement isn't the same as acceptance.

scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 23:41

as individuals we balance and mediate internal self (values,attitudes,psyche,mojo)and external environmental factors (society,culture,gender).the rub is the negotiation is different for all of us.and i adamantly dont want to be associated with the we is all subordinates school of thought. having been raised and influenced by various strong women (mum,aunts,sisters etc) they were no ones lesser and i wasn't raised like that. nor will i raise my dc to believe they are subordinate to anyone ,they aren't.

katiepotatie · 29/12/2010 23:22

no, we bought all gifts online, only sent close relatives cards, and dh did all the cooking and the clearing up Grin

sixpercenttruejedi · 29/12/2010 23:19

No-ones saying we are inevitably subordinate. But atm we are treated as subordinates regardless of how we consider ourselves.
Some women encounter the subordinate message and feel subordinate. Some women encounter the message and refuse to feel subordinate and try to fight it, both within themselves and the children they raise.
If you had considered yourself subordinate you wouldn't have been able to counteract the messages that say you are.
It's not about what you consider yourself to be, it's what the world sees you as, regardless of your own view.
Does that make sense? the sentences were a bit garbled.
I don't want to go on too much, I feel I'm getting drawn into furiously agreeing with you Grin
Everything you said in your post is correct but it doesn't factor in the outside world's sexism and it's inevitable influences.

scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 22:00

no just because something is said doesn't make it so,but i struggle with the fatalistic dystopian interpretation that as women we are inevitably subordinate etc.im not disputing it happens,it does and is well documented but no i dont consider my self subordinate.

LeninInExcelsis · 29/12/2010 19:57

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sixpercenttruejedi · 29/12/2010 19:37

Feminism exists because of the gumption and belly-fire of those that don't accept the status quo. It's not about accepting lower status, it's about acknowledging that our current status is unacceptable and fighting for better.
If women were just accepting it, we wouldn't have boards like this one.

scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 19:28

find it a bit flaccid and defeatist.i acknowledge the structural and social inequalities but imo that doesn't equate to accepting ones status as "underling" or "subordinate".christ id hope most people have bit more gumption and fire in belly than that.i wont bring my children up to accept it either

LeninInExcelsis · 29/12/2010 19:19

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sixpercenttruejedi · 29/12/2010 18:45

but women are subordinate in status. Not because we feel subordinate or think that's what we should be. Society affords women less status than men.
You have a strong personality SM, which is great as you are able to shrug off pressures that are put on women.
I don't think Sakura feels that women are less than (I know she doesn't) she is describing the situation that women have been pushed into.
Status is something that is imposed on us.

scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 18:20

clearly uses "underling" and "subordinate" as definitives to describe what she believes women's situations to be. i dont see her refuting those words.seems apparent in post she believes women to be "underling" and "subordinate" in status

Ivette · 29/12/2010 11:55

I just spli up with my bf of 7 years, because of him drinking and not helping me at all, just sitting there in a front of the computer :/

LeninInExcelsis · 29/12/2010 11:39

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scottishmummy · 29/12/2010 11:32

i dont assume myself or others to be "subordinate" or "underlings" (your terms)i acknowledge structural and social inequalities and pragmatically do what i can.

sakura · 29/12/2010 02:16

scottishmummy, I know you live in feminist utopia, but well, I live in a world where women make up the world's poor, where there are only 20% of them in parliament, where the IMF< OECD, WTO, governments, any organization or institution with any power at all is dominated by males.. women are left with the scraps; tokenism

scottishmummy · 28/12/2010 19:15

i agree but a crow bar and wd40 couldnt wrench some of the women in my family out the kitchen at xmas.they love the peeling spuds, mashing,stirring for hours and no way would they be argued with not to do this. they do think it a bit nutty that dp and i share it and we prep up in advance so on actual day not so much to be done

however,in no way would they consider selves oppressed or subordinate.they chose those tasks, like the significance and for them it has meaning.they have capacity and chose to undertake those tasks,declining male and female offers of help.the tasks have meaning and significance for them.xmas very much their thang,and their way.they do see it as womens work, their work,family business so to speak