Yesterday I followed a link on Gemma's blog to read a scathing opinion piece attacking Jane Brocket and her forthcoming book The Gentle Art of Domesticity.
My blood just about boiled when I read what this mean-spirited reporter had to say. Fine Liz, if making quince jelly is not for you, than just leave it to the rest of us that like to do those types of things!
My comments, and there were more than one, haven't appeared on the site yet, but my first was something to the effect of: I am married, working my dream job, and at night after a long day I come home and I sew and I cook, and you know what? I love it! I call my self a feminist and for me being a feminist means having the choice to create the kind of life I want to live. If that life is not for you, then fine, but from your angry tone it doesn't sound as though you're a very happy person.
As for the comment "Why should we when we can buy it. It's what craft fairs and farmers' markets are for. Some hand-knitted bed socks and a jar or two in the cupboard with a paper lid and a handwritten label can do wonders for one's domestic self-esteem." Well fine, support craft fairs! Support the farmer's market! But take a moment to realize that these things that you're throwing money at to boost your domestic self esteem were made or grown by loving hands, not sewn by some kid in a third world country chained to a desk without a pee break for 14 hours. Craftivism can be powerful, not useless - I suggest that Liz should read "The Crafter's Culture Handbook" by Amy Spencer.
I make homemade Christmas gifts to make the holidays more meaningful and step away from the capitalist bullshit that the media impresses upon us. Not because my husband is forcing me to churn out handmade muffins and goods by the hour. Grr.
I think that Jean Railla says everything I'm blabbering about in a much more coherent way in her essay Feminism and the New Domesticity.
I also wrote on my comment that I had never heard of Jane Brocket's blog/book before and I've now subscribed to her blog and will certainly be looking for her book in the bookstores. She sounds like my cup of tea, unlike Ms. Hunt.
4 comments:
I read Janes blog and it peeved me off as well. Why is there a fight between women? I thought we were the gentle ones.
Woo, yeah! That lady is NUTS! That's one thing I've never understood about women like her: on about how women should be able to choose the life they want, and yet so critical and disappointed in women who chose to master some or all of the domestic arts. I don't feel pressured to do these things-- I enjoy them. And that shouldn't threaten other women or make them angry, unless they aren't happy doing what they're doing for whatever reason.
Amen!
Double amen.
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