A personal journal pertaining to life in South Africa, with a some very useful links for people living here.

Tuesday, 28 August 2007

Housework is Women's Work

Sarah Britten's blog, The Art of the South African Insult, reflects someone's opinion that housework is women's work. If only! And if so, please may I have one who agrees?

I agree that men are definitely not suited to doing it properly! If you have any doubts, try being an ageing single father to a teenage daughter, without domestic help! Cooking (hate it!), washing, ironing, cleaning, tidying, nagging, (not to mention homework), shopping, playing taxi, handling tantrums, trying to strike the balance between sympathy, empathy and straightforward honesty about the many boyfriends and "love affairs", (all with a dishcloth on your shoulder), remembering where you put things that she left lying around and suddenly can't live without .......

Then add a thermometer, a fever, a bucket, a collection of medicines each to be administered at different times ....

I guess there's always the bright side - like no in-laws, Mr Muscle in a bottle, and the prospect that one day she'll be an adult.

(Notice that it's "Mr" Muscle", "Mr Min", "Handy Andy" - never the other gender?)

If I ever reach old age, I'll dribble, pass wet ones, and be impossibly demanding! Actually, I'll probably just sleep all day, every day!

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