About pillow cases having 'housewife' written on the packaging?

[brettgirl2]

In Sainsbury's. I mean have I entered a timewarp and gone back to 1950? I was and put them straight back on the shelf.

In our house they'd have to be called "whoever changes them with the help of the cat who thinks changing the bed linen is a hilarious game but it's more likely to be him" pillowcases.

I'm trying to get myself all worked up and offended, I'm a feminist, I believe in equality. But unless it said underneath the name 'Housewife Pillowcase' 'WARNING! Pillowcases must only be changed by an actual housewife. Forcing a man to do housework will emasculate him, he will leave you, and you will only have yourself to blame' I can't bring myself to consider it anything other than a name.

My sister's house has 'dog leg' stairs, should her dog be offended? My old house had what was described as an Adam style fireplace. Should Adam be offended that it implies his role in life is to light the fire? There are thousands of examples. They're just names.

What treaclesoda said. I'm a feminist but I find no offence in the term housewife pillowcase.

The "housewife" is the flap at one end of a rectangular pillowcase that tucks over the end of the pillow. It is known as a housewife because it is tidy, apparently. Nothing to do with who is changing the linen.

Germaine Greer wrote in The Whole Woman that the expression 'housewife' "should be considered as shocking as 'yard n***'."

I agree. I spotted these pillowcases in Morrison's the other day and was horrified.

I don't think housewife is anything LIKE as offensive as the N word. And "horrified". Really? It's an old fashioned term that we have found new rods for. I don't think naming a pillowcase housewife is offensive at all.

It goes back as far as 1880 and is therefore a historical term.

I'm feminist, even maybe a bit rad-fem, and there are lots of ways of writing things that do wind me up, but I can't summon it for this I'm blowed if I can list out types of pillow cases, or care enough to describe what each of them is, but it is just a description for a style of pillowcase, not an instruction for who should use them.

I wouldn't use the term 'housewife' myself, but I don't find it offensive either.

I'm willing to be converted though if someone can give me enough reason - the feminist corner here has definitely done that for me over lots of other things.

A historical term can't be offensive?

I don't know if that makes it better or worse witch. To me the difference between dog leg stairs and this is of course in the 50s it was the 'housewife' changing them. It's also really odd that I have a house full of them and have never heard them called that before.

I just can't find it offensive kittens. It's what the Housewives Co-operative called themselves back in 1880. They invented it. I just can't find the name offensive.

What about Oxford? Plenty of Oxford housewives, and Housewife Oxfords.

Get over it I recks...

I don't see housewife as offensive in any context unless it's preceded by the word 'just'. I certainly don't find it offensive as a name for a type of pillowcase.

If the word wife automatically included the whole housewife role - that it was assumed she would do it all as she was a woman - that would be offensive. If there was no male equivalent that would be offensive.

But as it is it's a slightly old-fashioned, gender specific but less twee version of homemaker and I can't see how it offends.

Pillowcases have names?

I didn't even know there were toes other than "normal" or "square" etc

Madness!

WTF?

'housewife a vile sexist term'

Jeez

Are you always this easily offended, OP?

I think that there can be offensive interpretations of a housewife's role, but I don't find the idea of a housewife offensive in itself. I don't find it offensive as a term for a style of pillow and I don't find it offensive as the name for my travel sewing kit either.

Pillowcases have names?

Mine are called David and Simon

Ay-up OP, be prepared for an avalanche if scorn to descend upon you from the AIBU horde

I do think you've over reacted to the name and to describe it as vile is a bit daft, but [meh] we all have our bugbears.

If anyone considers the word housewife offensive there really isn't any hope is there?

Of all the things that could have extinguished your last hope for humanity caruthers, it had to be this AIBU. You must have been hanging by a thread.

I think i'll have a little napkin to get over it Lilly

It's just a freaking name! It's not like they're called Redskin pillows, which is a name that has caused offence!

I bet there's lots of things you don't know had a name or the name you know it by is wrong. I think it was QI that pointed out there is an object that we all have at least one of in houses and the majority of buildings but doesn't have an official name.