Whoeee! It's been ages, practically ages since I wrote my last blog. Well, that's because things have been happening. I've been getting my dream flat, a teeny tiny flat ready. And that's quite a story. For another time. What an education it has been. It's an ongoing education happening every day. What it means to arrange finance, do the math, haggle, endure and WAIT. Yes. Quite a story.
But today I'm dealing with a topic close to my heart. I'm a heart and gut person. Less of brain. Have you noticed the monumental strides we've made and are making everyday in technology? New gadgets, new machines, new inventions. Very progressive. I for one appreciate all the help technology gives me in finishing up my chores. The food processors, the microwaves, the OTGs, the rice cookers, the electric kettles and what -have -you. But our perception hasn't altered one bit, sad to say. Take a look at every advert of an kitchen appliance. It is a woman wielding it. The perception of a woman as a homemaker hasn't shifted at all. We are bent upon our pigeon holing. Of course a woman can be financially independent. But she cannot free herself of the burdens of a home. Don't get me wrong. Nothing wrong with being a homemaker. But what happens when a woman works twice as hard at her job as a man? Okay. Maybe just works outside the home. Is she free of housework, the kitchen chores, kids' responsibilities? Do we say - honestly- no, she works outside so she needn't work at home? Is the co-operation that is automatically extended to the man holding a high pressure job extended to her? Will the man in her life step forward and actually do the kitchen chores without feeling emasculated? Will our adverts feature men using kitchen appliances? Mostly importantly will those adverts sell? Will they be accepted? Will we ever be able to change our mindsets?
My grandmother used to cook for a large family through the day. She had no gadgets to make her work easy. I do. I cook for a small family. I finish in 15 mins. But I cook. So what has changed? Duration of cooking? Ease of process? But in reality nothing has changed. The underlying perception of women as being confined to home and hearth hasn't changed one bit no matter what high powered corporate or executive positions they might occupy. Most women I know take pride in what they call their"efficiency"in managing both the home and office. But what I see is the underlying truth. Over the centuries nothing has changed. Women are expected to conform to a mold. And they are stuck in their little pigeon holes.
And sometimes just sometimes it sucks. When I'm in the middle of writing and the maid doesn't turn up, or the microwave goes kaput when I'm a tearing hurry to finish up so I can get to my writing quickly, or.....Yeah. You get the picture. Then I wish, just wish that for once it won't be taken for granted that I'm the sole in charge of the household and everything that happens in it- from leaking taps, kaput machines, absentee maids isn't my headache alone. That the space given to my husband is extended to me too and I'm not expected to cook or clean just because I'm a woman.
What do YOU think? This is what I think.
