A Feminist Guide to the Holidays

Alright guys, you know the drill.  It happens in almost every household from sea to shining sea: You’ve eaten the turkey, you’ve polished off the last your mashed potatoes (and your brother’s, too…), so you bring your dishes to your mom/aunt/grandma/other-well-established-female-family-member in the kitchen as all the men sit on the couch and watch the game.

Okay, I know this is a stereotype and that not every family operates this way.  Here’s a feminist high-five to all those families that break the mold.

Now for the rest of you…

Seriously, don’t feel bad. This scene played out as predictably as a plotline on the Jersey Shore last Thursday at my house, and it doesn’t mean that all the men in my life are jerks who care more about watching the Saints slaughter the Cowboys than helping out with household chores.  Rather, these poor guys have just been raised in a society that tells them it’s okay!  My Grandpa has never thought to help with the dishes at a family gathering because he has never been asked.  Just like when grandma needed the futon moved, she asked my 23 year old brother (Who is a personal trainer… So good call, Grandma.) and not me.  Gender plays such a huge role in our lives, and though I could write a novel about gender roles in family gatherings, it’s nearly finals week and no one has time to read another book, right?.

So that’s why I’m using this blog as my own little personal feminist PSA: Shake it up.  Tommy, help your mom with the dishes.  Suzie, grab that futon & start pullin’.  Because the best way to create change is to start small, start in your own community, your own family, heck…just start in your living room.