Letters to the Editor
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Division of Labor persists
When I was a teen, I was determined that my marriage would be a 50-50 split. And sexism free. My mother taught me to sew. My husband learned a lot of car chores from his father. So, the chore split in our family is pretty traditional.
In my family, cooking big dinners is a social time for the women. And the kitchen is full. My daughter likes to join the group. My son (surprise, surprise) doesn't want to join a group of women. My daughter watches me sew and wants to learn.
My son watches my husband work on cars and wants to learn.
I suspect the next generation will be similar to this one. My daughter will look on cooking big dinners as a fun social occasion and be a competent seamstress. My son will know how to change oil and avoid getting bossed around by a team of women chatting about clothes on Thanksgiving.
I had the opportunity to learn from my husband how to work on cars. He could have learned to sew (actually I think he knows how but hates it). My daughter and son are the same. Is it sexism? No really. We had choices and made them. That's what freedom is about.