It is awfully quiet in here

[bekkilyn]

Been working on our PurimSpeil. (play based on the book of Esther)

I am playing Mordecai and our performance is Saturday evening.

Good luck to you and everyone in the play!

 

[Dave-W]

Good luck to you and everyone in the play!

Thanks!

 

[bekkilyn]

I've been taking a bit of a break for this site, having gotten kind of tired of "Christians" during this pandemic, you know the folks who believe that their "religious liberty" to infect other people because "people are going to die anyway" is greater than anything that Christ could possibly command or teach concerning the poor, weak, and vulnerable among us. Just don't have the stomach for it right now and I know it's probably all over this site.

(Which means that when I am here, I may just stick to this forum, the Progressive Christian forum, the Wesleyan forum, and perhaps a couple others I'm forgetting and ignore the rest as cesspools of spiritual meanness and abuse.)

 

[PloverWing]

I've been on CF less than usual, too. CF takes a lot of emotional energy, and I haven't had a lot of emotional energy to spare since the lockdown started.

 

[Paidiske]

I have, however, seen some interesting articles suggesting that the burdens associated with this pandemic - of caring, of domestic load, of domestic violence, and of unemployment - are falling disproportionately on women.

Here's an example. The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism

I thought maybe that might be a discussion worth having in here?

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

Looking after. ... All this looking after—this unpaid caring labor—will fall more heavily on women, because of the existing structure of the workforce. “It’s not just about social norms of women performing care roles; it’s also about practicalities,” Wenham added. “Who is paid less? Who has the flexibility?”

Most families need two incomes to maintain living expenses. It’s really up in the air what will transpire to balance it.

And in Britain today, a quarter of families are headed by a single parent, more than 90 percent of whom are women. Closed schools make their life even harder.

The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism

 

[PloverWing]

I ran across a couple of similar articles today: An Extreme Example Of Domestic Inequality Exposes A Premise That Holds Back Many Women’s Careers , ‘I had to choose being a mother’: With no child care or summer camps, women are being edged out of the workforce .

 

[Paidiske]

I bookmarked this thread when you posted those links, PloverWing, and only today did I find time to sit down and read the articles. Draw conclusions from that about being a working mum in a pandemic!

Far out, that father, though, unable/unwilling to look after his own son... words fail me.

 

[PloverWing]

Yeah, I don't know what to make of that dad.

Except that, commonly, men and women alike are raised to take for granted that housework and childcare are primarily the wife's responsibility, regardless of whether she works outside the home. At least, that was true in my generation. I had hoped that things would improve in my children's generation, but apparently they haven't, yet. The helpless dad in the article is just an extreme example.

I hear you, about being a working mum. My kids are mostly grown now, so I've had it easier than it would be if they were younger, but housework is eternal.

 

[Paidiske]

I do think there's a generational shift. My husband is my daughter's primary carer, and other stay-at-home (or working part-time) dads are around, even if they're in a minority. When I was a kid it was unheard of.

Housework is eternal, but I sometimes fantasise about how easy it would be if I lived alone, and very simply, and there was only ever me to clean up after...

 

[Gregorikos]

Yeah, I don't know what to make of that dad.

Except that, commonly, men and women alike are raised to take for granted that housework and childcare are primarily the wife's responsibility, regardless of whether she works outside the home. At least, that was true in my generation. I had hoped that things would improve in my children's generation, but apparently they haven't, yet. The helpless dad in the article is just an extreme example.

I hear you, about being a working mum. My kids are mostly grown now, so I've had it easier than it would be if they were younger, but housework is eternal.

I have a problem with the way that story characterizes the man "helping" at home. That kind of verbiage in itself implies primary responsibility for work at home goes to the woman. The only question is how much he will help her do the jobs that must be done. To me, the implication is clear, and it would be helpful if women decide here and now that they will never say it that way again.

The man and the woman both live in the house. The children belong to both of them. He shares the responsibility. He doesn't help. He shares.

 

[bekkilyn]

I do think there's a generational shift. My husband is my daughter's primary carer, and other stay-at-home (or working part-time) dads are around, even if they're in a minority. When I was a kid it was unheard of.

Housework is eternal, but I sometimes fantasise about how easy it would be if I lived alone, and very simply, and there was only ever me to clean up after...

Well then you run into the issue of, "Well I'm the only one who cares or sees the mess and I'd rather be doing this other more important thing."