As someone who does most of the cooking in this household, pulls his weight with the children and is far more inclined towards OCD with regards cleaning than my wife, I wonder what role the modern wife plays. Casting my gaze over these vintage advertisements, one can see why conservitive talk show hosts and former Australian Prime Ministers long for the 'golden age' of sexual politics.
Why, this little old blog has featured women cooking, cleaning, reclining in a bikini, preparing multiple salad dressings, ensuring clean drains, helping the war effort, being pleasantly useless, ensuring their 'feminine hygiene' is adequate, unable to resist arseholes, pushing men to the end of their tether, gardening in uncomfortable-looking shorts, taking a beating and enjoying it and entertaining the troops.
So I ask again, what role the modern woman? Surely not that envisaged by ad number fifty sums it up? Say it ain't so ladies!
Comments
For the record, I agree with everything you say, and think that Betry Friedan nailed it in The Feminine Mystique. These old ads illustrate it clearly, as well as some not-so-old ads!
On a cheeky, yet slightly profound note: the idea of Feminist movement must be of a man. He certainly gets a better deal.
Kris, you of course, by your own admission, are an exception to the rule. :-)