Part one of this book talks about four different topics: feminism, commercialism, breaking tradition and community. The author has gone into great depth with each topic and I realize that to really discuss this part of the book properly we'd have to talk about one topic a week. But since there is still another half to go I'll keep it a bit short.
The book opens with her interviewing a young woman canning tomatoes. She is from a well-to-do middle class family who was too busy working and "getting ahead" in life to sit down and eat a meal together. She is learning all these homesteading skills from scratch. I feel I can relate to her as everything I know I have taught myself via books or the internet.
She then moves on to discuss how the feminist movement that helped move women into a position of power in the work place and opened up many doors for them also broke down the traditional family structure. With the addition of a second income we lost the tradition of passing on practical life skills.
Here are the points I would like to discuss with you all:
- On page 5 the author asks "Is it possible to be a feminist and can tomatoes?". What is your interpretation of feminism and do you think it is possible to do both?
- The author writes that in the pre-Industrial era home there was an equal division of labor where a husband and wife worked as a team to help keep the household running. Now they work separately all day. Is it idealist to think everyone could go back to this? Do you have an equal division of labor in your home?
- The Industrial era saw men leave the home for the factories. This in turn made all of the household chores fall to the women who could not find enough time in the day to finish the tasks of two people. The newly deemed "housewife" also did not have all the skill sets to accomplish all the tasks that needed to be done, so industry picked up the tail end for her creating things she could buy to save her time. This meant that the husband needed to spend more time out of the home to make money to buy things they could have made themselves. Thus the era of commercialism began. How much of your life do you attempt to hand a hands-on experience with? What do you and don't you make yourself?
- The author writes in detail about how advertisers are selling housewives things they don't need. They are selling hopes and expectations. Do you feel like you are swayed by commercialism? Even the homesteading, green living, crunchy kind? I know I'm swayed by pictures of cute babies wearing super cute, bright colored cloth diapers.
- The last chapter talks about breaking down barriers and learning new skill sets. Have you learned to cook, knit, chop fire wood, tend animals, garden and other such domestic skills since childhood from parents, relatives or friends or did you have to teach yourself later on in life?
Feel free to discuss one, all or none of these topics. Please feel free to reply to other peoples comments and start a discussion. I will do my best to respond to everyone. Please be gentle though if you disagree with someone, constructive arguments only!
I'll be discussing part two of the book sometime at the end of the month or beginning of the April. Let's get talking. Did anyone bring coffee and homemade doughnuts?
i have been wanting to talk with someone about this book! i read it awhile ago and no one i know has read it!
ReplyDeleteso...
your first question: i am not sure why they have to be separate, why can't you be for women's right and be a powerful woman and still want to supply yourself with food. i mean if you think about it that is a very important skill. i think for me, feminism is about having choices. those choices don't just include only ways NOT to "woman's work". i think, personally, that we have sort of fought the wrong battle. instead of fighting for women to be like men, we should be fighting for women to be like women. (but maybe that is another topic? LOL)
if i can i would like to bring up something that sort of bugged me about a few of the people the author talks about. now i don't have an issue with sharing or everyone having a couple things and lending them out. what i didn't like was some of the people not buying into consumerism but gladly using stuff from people who did, or not having jobs and getting money from their families who worked for years to get a nest egg. i mean how can you say you are going against the grain if you do it while mooching off of others. like your neighbor has all the latest "toys" for yard work so you just borrow from them and feel superior for not owning all of it yourself. that attitude sort of bugged me, along with the woman who planted peoples gardens and planted more of the stuff she liked so she could get it from them. i don't know that sorta rubbed me wrong. i would like to know if i was just being picky about that stuff, did anyone else think that was weird?
I don't think they need to be separate either. Having the knowledge to procure your own food and be self sufficient ie fix your own broken sink, to me says more about the power of a woman then her ability to earn six figures selling some product.
DeleteAs for the part that bugged you, I didn't come across that in this first half of the book. But I will surely address it when we arrive at the end of the book!
totally late to this party but i'm picking up a copy tomorrow at the library (i just checked and they have two on the shelf!). i've been wanting to read it for months. thanks for the swift kick in the arse!
ReplyDeleteNo problem! Jsut join in whenever you feel ready. It's an online book club so it's convient when mama's need it!
Deletei checked it out from the library and read it last summer. i started out thinking that i was a radical homemaker, but after reading it i'm pretty sure i am just a moderately radical homemaker. while there are lots of things in the book that i like and do, i am not ready to take it to the extent that these ladies are! there is certainly a romanticism to shunning the world and living off the land, but for me, at the end of the day, i just can't give up some of the luxuries of modern life.
ReplyDeletein the last year i have learned a lot of new skills: we got a flock of four laying hens, built garden beds, had our first garden last summer, and now i have a plan for a year-round garden (i live in portland, oregon where the weather allows for this). i made jam and pickles for the first time. i began baking my own bread, although i still don't have a good whole grain recipe... we bought a deep freezer and purchased shares of pasture-raised pork, beef and chickens. i rendered lard from the pig and made the best biscuits i have ever eaten!
i have more to write but my daughter just woke up! i'll be back!
I think there are some people in the book who really go all the way. But then there are others like the young woman in the introduction who was just starting out living in an apartment with a roommate and canning tomatoes.
DeleteI think you are a radical homemaker from your description, you've gone beyond the norm and have taken steps towards a more sustainable life style. It takes years to get where a lot of those people are.
You should check out Root Simple blog. Kelly and Erik live in a town house in LA, they have a garden and chickens. They still have modern comforts but are really rocking the radical homesteader model.
Portland, you are in the local food mecca. I jealous! I look forward to the other things you have to say!
my impression from the book, and true i did read it a few months ago, was that you had to be actively rejecting the existing culture to be a radical homemaker. but i suppose avoiding the grocery store in favor of local farms could be seen as a rejection of part of our culture.
Deleteand yes, portland is amazing for local food. we are well aware that we live in a little bubble and we love it!
I'm a few weeks late with this comment but better late than never, right? I finally finished reading Part 1 last night. I really enjoyed many parts of the book so far, including all the history about how homemaking has evolved through the years and the various forces that have influenced that evolution. I do think it is idealist to think everyone could go back to having both partners at home equally sharing the "homemaking" responsibilities. Especially if one or both of you have jobs outside the home that you enjoy and that do satisfy her "four tenets," then division of labor is going to shift accordingly. I think this was my biggest issue so far - that she doesn't acknowledge and explore how people are trying to gain the many skills associated with homemaking and valuing their home while also choosing to work for a paycheck somewhere else (I count myself in this group so maybe that's why I am thinking about this...). The world does need some people to work outside the home, even if many of us would be happier if we didn't spend so much time pursuing material goods and spent more time nurturing relationships and cultivating creativity.
ReplyDeleteI have developed skills on my own such as knitting, canning, sewing, cooking almost everything from scratch, and gardening. My mom does most of these things too but I wouldn't say she actively taught them to me, although she has been a great example for me to follow.
More than anything, I think what this book has got me thinking about is the real VALUE of homemaking, and the many ways it can enrich your life. I've never actively thought about how homemaking skills have been so de-valued and how they are even looked down upon by many people. And how these days they are really seeing a resurgence of interest and enthusiasm. Putting effort and energy into your family, your home, the food you put in your body, your relationships, your community, and producing the necessities of life seems like the best use of our time, and something that should be highly valued by us all.
I'm looking forward to reading the second half of the book!