Cook Your Own Dinner

In the nineteenth century, a movement was begun at the Seneca Falls Convention: that for women's rights.  Women were not allowed to vote, and were essentially slaves once married, all of their property becoming their husband's. The fact that women's role was to cook and clean and raise children, not to work or speak publicly or vote was quite ingrained into most people's minds.  Responses to the Seneca Falls convention were mixed.  Some condemned the idea of women's reform, citing reasons from the Bible why they didn't think women should be given rights.  Some even went as far as to openly ridicule the reformers and their ideas.  Some people, however, agreed that it is ridiculous that half of the human population should be oppressed in this manner and spoke out in support of the reform movement.  In a rather sarcastic article in the National Reformer, an anti-reform piece published in the Mechanic's Advocate was ridiculed, and the author asked:

'We would ask but for one valid reason why woman should be deprived of her equal rights as an intelligent being.  We have never seen one reason attempted.  Even the editor of the Advocate attempts none.  He says: 'Now it requires no argument to prove that this is all wrong.'  This is disposing of the matter very easily.  No argument can be given, and therefore he says none is required.'

Another article published in the Oneida Whig claims:

'This bolt is the most shocking and unnatural incident ever recorded in the history of womanity.  If our ladies will insist on voting and legislating, where, gentlemen, will be our dinners and our elbows?  Where our domestic firesides and the holes in our stockings?'

For all their claims of superiority, men sure were incompetent.

Despite the best efforts of reformers in the 1800s, men and women are still treated very differently today.  Men are expected to go to work, grill, and watch football, while women are (still) expected to cook and clean and raise the children and go out shopping with their friends.  Plenty of men are very sexist.  Some guys make comments about women belonging in the kitchen and then complain about being single (one wonders why they are).  There still aren't any women in very high governmental positions in the US.  My chemistry teacher is a doctor - and almost everyone who doesn't know her and sees her title assumes she's male.  Even when women perform the same jobs as men, they are often treated worse and paid less though their work is equal to or even better than their male counterparts'.  Unfortunately, sexism is very much a part of today's society, and in many more ways than I have listed here.  Maybe we need another reform movement.