The Feminine Mystic is something I think all the women of the 50s needed to read. Women from a young age are taught that a true woman is nurturing and lives solely for her husband and kids. The Feminine Mystic speaks of the “problem with no name” that all housewives had in common, but they could not place their fingers on it. The problem was they were living for everyone else around them but themselves. The Feminine Mystic speaks about the way women were brainwashed by society to think true femininity was being nurturing and beautiful; nothing more. Women only focused on keeping their husbands and children happy and keeping their home looking like it belongs in a magazine. The Feminine Mystic reads, “Experts told them how to catch a man and keep him,  how to breastfeed children and handle their toilet training, how to cope with sibling rivalry and adolescent rebellion; how to buy a dishwasher, bake bread, cook gourmet snails, and build a swimming pool with their own hands; how to dress, look, and act more feminine and make marriage more exciting;  how to keep their husbands from dying young and their sons from growing into delinquents.” This is what the women of that period were taught, magazines told them how to keep their home beautiful and husbands happy not to find their true purpose and do what makes them truly happy. The problem with no name was that calling for something more than cleaning and cooking. I loved how The Feminine Mystic spoke about true femininity and what it really means to be a woman. The Feminine Mystic reads, “it says this femininity is so mysterious and intuitive and close to the creation and origin of life that man-made science may never be able to understand it.  But however special and different, it is in no way inferior to the nature of man; it may even in certain respects be superior.” Women are the most powerful being God created, we bring life into the world, we are so multitalented it’s a superpower. Full career women with families keep the home in check, raise the kids, work full time, and find the time for self-care and hobbies; if that’s not a superhero then I don’t know what is. On the other, it is mind-boggling to see that after all these women are still seen as inferior to men in the modern day. Why are women still expected to cook and clean and look after the kids after a long day of work or hell just being at home?

In The Politics of Housework by Pat Mainardi, Mainardi speaks about the way women are undermined in relationships when it comes to housework and if we are truly liberated. She speaks of men and their need to feel superior in every aspect and how housework makes them feel lesser than because it’s a never-ending cycle and there is no higher goal.  Mainardi said that she spoke to her partner about how they should share the housework as they share everything else, and he said sure, but she knew there was a catch. Mainardi writes, “I don’t mind sharing the housework, but I don’t do it very well. We should each do the things we’re best at.” MEANING: Unfortunately, I’m no good at things like washing dishes or cooking. What I do best is a little light carpentry, changing light bulbs, moving furniture (how often do you move furniture?).” Men will not do anything that they believe questions their manly hood so washing dishes is out of the question because it’s a “women’s job.” The fact that some men still think this way is revolting. Why is cleaning seen as the job of a woman; we work the same hours, same field, yet the women are still expected to cook and clean. Then when you nag them, and they finally get up to do the housework they play dumb and act like they don’t know how to do it in hopes that you will get frustrated and do it for them. Most men from a young age have everything done for them, cooking cleaning, tying their shoes, hell, even brushing their hair. So, as they get older, they expect their partners to do the same. A while back there was a tik tok going around of a wife who had to print out images of the items she wanted her husband to get from the grocery along with the number he needed to pick up. This was manipulation at its finest, he didn’t want to do the hard job of thinking and doing the grocery shopping, so he played dumb and had his wife do the work for him.  I liked Mainardi’s example with the wolves and female spiders. She claims that men see themselves as the alphas they are meant to lead and make a change, not to do housework. But I know that most of the time the alpha of a wolf pack is controlled by the female wolf.  Female spiders eat the heads of their mates, and the queen bee does the same and runs the hive. Male birds must dance and look pretty to win over a female bird, and sperm whales fight to the death to win over a mate. In most species, if not all, the females are the superior ones. So, what’s not clicking with the human species why are women still seen as inferior. Men judge everything else but themselves, I loved Hannah Nichols’s post regarding a woman keeping her stocking perfect in the 50s. It’s so funny to me that a man would care about his wife’s stocking when she is running the home and keeping his life in order. It is funny how they are always so concerned with our appearance even today, yet they don’t know our anatomy. Most men only focus on their needs and want, women on the other hand are naturally peaceful caring beings. Yes, we are working harder than the men in most professional fields, we run the home raise the kids, and fulfill our needs, but I believe we will not be completely liberated until we stop caring about the needs of others; it’s time to be selfish.