Posted on 12/25/2022 7:12:41 PM PST by FarCenter
Philosophers seeking to answer questions around inequality in household labour and the invisibility of women's work in the home have proposed a new theory -- that men and women are trained by society to see different possibilities for action in the same domestic environment.
They say a view called "affordance theory" -- that we experience objects and situations as having actions implicitly attached -- underwrites the age-old gender disparity when it comes to the myriad mundane tasks of daily home maintenance.
For example, women may look at a surface and see an implied action -- 'to be wiped' -- whereas men may just observe a crumb-covered countertop.
The philosophers believe these deep-seated gender divides in domestic perception can be altered through societal interventions such as extended paternal leave, which will encourage men to build up mental associations for household tasks.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Nastiest things on the planet. Copperheads are models of cleanliness by comparison.
Speaking of cockroaches. “No respect I tell ya. My wife can’t cook. I leave dental floss in the kitchen and the cockroaches hang themselves!’’
There was also a HUGE push that can still be found in all the old issues of the ladies magazines (postwar, when they thought they had it all figured out only to spawn the hippies in the next generation) to not be seen working, but instead to be all bathed, made up, and lounging when the husband got home from work. There is also the tradition in all the big houses with servants that the servants weren’t to be seen working but should accomplish everything around the aristocrats invisibly.
But you wouldn’t say that the data entry people weren’t doing any work, but that they were doing work you couldn’t stand (because it was mind numbing).
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