Only females do laundry?

[Ginfox]

The winner of this award is a beautiful photo of a female Blackbird, in a garden, with washing hanging out to dry in the background. Nothing wrong with the photo.

Link

The title is "The Suburban Mum", presumably given by the photographer. Which has successfully bloody annoyed me, but also made me wonder if I'm seeing issues where there are none (or minor at least).

I've had very little sleep, so am more than usually irritable today

Isn't complaining about associations between Mums and laundry - but also saying 'Yay for Mums toolbox' kind of going with the idea that baking is lower status to putting up shelves?

The annoyance is not that the mum blackbird is associated with laundry but that a dad wouldn't be? Maybe start a campaign for more male wildlife pictured with domestic chores. Vixens with motorbike oil changes and foxes with doilies for the nest of tables...

Absolutely. Down with that sort of thing.

One of my happy memories is being told by DD's nursery that she'd had a time out for yelling ' NO! NO! IRONS ARE FOR DADDIES' as she tried to prevent another girl from using one in the home corner.
Yes, we had a chat about other homes being different, but daddy is still the laundry man 20 years later.

Not sure about your idea for a campaign Dam

Actually I think it's more about options than status. About the idea that men and women are equally able to carry out either task. And girls growing up assuming that fun jobs like laundry don't automatically fall to them.

I don't know if that's like with like though, you never have to bake if you don't want to, it is something you can enjoy and excel at, laundry is a never ending shit job that someone constantly has to keep on top of.

downbytheriverside my ds picked up the iron at nursery school and said "my dad has one of these at home!" When I told my own dad this story, he said "weren't you embarrassed?"

Because I'm a SAHM and it's woman's work, see? It might be why I think this stuff matters. A bit. Not too much.

Well that's an afternoon spent painting "more male wildlife pictured with domestic chores" on old bedsheets I won't get back.

That just made me spit laundry detergent over my keyboard

Buffy's gone a bit strange since she's become MrsCockhead.

Spook it does matter a bit, but not too much. But all the things that matter a bit add up to a lot I suppose.

Anyway I'll march with you Buffy, so as not to waste your artistic efforts. Where should we go first? Chris Packham's house? Or straight to the top - David Attenborough?

Can I vote for Chris Packham? Still have last vestiges of massive crush from the 80's for him.

It's a shame Johnny Morris is no longer with us. And the PG Tips adverts with chimps. Can we petition to have this rebooted?

My crush on CP is still very much active Puffins.

Also we must find out from him the secret to being so well preserved at 50+.

Yeah, but female blackbirds are actually identifiable, whereas there are quite a lot of fleeting views of little brown jobs (LBJs), which are probably something ever so rare. Or not.

David Attenborough is a top feminist chap, IIRC.