What would you personally consider ‘man’s work’ (if any)

[Smyths]

Just curious really. I’m a bit of a feminist type and feel like I should be able to do everything a man can and be self sufficient but just means I feel hopeless when I realise I can’t. I often expect too much of myself beyond my capabilities.

What do you personally consider man’s work (if any) and would always delegate/ask a male in your family to do?

It occurs to me that some things are hard for women to do, because everything about it has been designed by a man for a man to use. For example someone talked about using a petrol lawnmower. If petrol lawnmowers were mostly used by women then I am sure they could be made to start without quite so much force and maybe at an angle that would not be so hard for a shorter person to achieve.

This 100%
The book 'Invisible women' looks at this - so much of the world has been designed by men and therefore benefits men. The vast majority of it isn't malicious it just hasn't been considered.

In my last long term relationship I was by far the more practical, and the only driver, so I did all the practical jobs and my BF did the washing, cleaning, cooking, etc.

This time around I married an engineer, so he does the technical tinkery jobs, electrics, plumbing, etc. also the heavy lifting as having DD left me with a glass back.

IT is DH's job in our house but I doubt it's the same in my friends house where she works in IT and her DH is a hairdresser, so no, I don't think there are 'men's jobs'.

Re the mower - I could start it but it turns out that servicing the mower/ getting the mower serviced was nobody's job so the bloody thing seized up so now it really does take some omph.

I don't consider anything to be man's work, but in our house DH does anything the requires physical strength, any DIY and a lot of the cleaning. He enjoys it maybe? He never has to be asked anyway!

Anything done by a man is man's work.

Literally, absolutely nothing.

HTH

DW: carpet laying, woodwork, wallpaper, patisserie, gardening, white fish, nine months working on DD.
Me: electrics, brickwork and concrete, red meat, bread, opening jars and bottles (she has a duff wrist from years back), five minutes working on DD.
Both: Plumbing, cleaning, laundry, bringing up DD, spoiling DGS.

Getting all the little bits of food out of the kitchen plug hole.

Until I lost the use of an arm, I could do any sort of DIY, basic car maintenance, carry heavy loads, ladder stuff, heavy duty gardening, drive a tractor, control bulls etc etc.
I was brought up to be able to give anything a go, and find the right tool to enable me to do things that I might not be able to do unassisted. My parents might have been traditional in some ways (mum used to say that they'd had a deal where she would learn to pluck and draw a bird when dad changed a dirty nappy - and she never did), but my mum did all the decorating, gardening (dad was too faffy apparently), bike maintenance and so on. I learnt from both of them!

DH says the only mans job is weeing standing up, then retracted it on thought of a she wee enabling it

Well I don't know if it's anything to go with sex. My husband makes skirts for my daughter.i don't know how to us the sewing machine. He also volunteers for gross stuff like drains, pond filters, gutters and bin cleaning.

Probably things that require physical strength. I'll give anything my best shot and generally do. But there are some things I've found physically I can't do. 🤷

@Eveta does that mean to you that no other woman could do them either? Surely it's just that it's beyond you so someone stronger or taller or skilled, trained etc in whatever it is could manage it no?

I can do lots of things traditionally seen as man's jobs. I don't feel hopeless about not being able to do heavy lifting or use power tools because a lot of men can't do those either. I could learn. We are just humans with different skills and abilities.