""I have such a COMPULSION TO BAKE, I just can't help it, but I couldn't possibly eat more than a crumb myself so I'll just donate it to the strong, hard-working men instead"
There. Yes, that's it. "
Well, that's obviously stupid, but what's irritating me is that the assumption of all those agreeing with the OP initially is that that's the default position of the women in question. the practicalities of how much cake one might want to eat are different. As i said earlier, there are 2 of us plus one toddler - half a cake is really enough for us - any more and we're just eating it because it's there and we don't want to waste it, rather than because we really feel like cake. Besides, half of dh's colleagues and students are women. I'm assuming they eat the leftover cake too.
Sixspot, no, absolutely, your mum shouldn't have to have made mince pies for your dad, but if your dad had, say, been doing the ironing or hoovering the stairs while your mum happily pottered round the kitchen baking, do you think your perspective might be different?
This is what's irritated me about the argument mp put forward - that women who give cakes to their partner to share are somehow, knowingly or not, downtrodden, have food issues and stuck in gender stereotypes.
I'd love it if our default position about women we don't know is that they were equal partners with their partners, independent and capable of making their own decisions. Yes, some won't fit that model, but does that have to be the first assumption about all?