Men Doing Housework Fantasy Calendar

This British calendar, found here, consists of photos of beefy men doing housework. And I thought I Love It When You Talk Clean to Me was just a joke.

Also note that it's another example of social activism through consumption--the company makes a donation to breast cancer research for every calendar sold.

"WIFE" T-Shirt

Also see these.

Thanks, pj!

Home Made Simple Squad: Women Take Joy in Cleaning

The Home Made Simple Squad is a new ad campaign for Proctor & Gamble cleaning products. Five women make up the Squad. Here is one of them:

This is Lori. From her bio:

'I love to entertain in my home, and when people come over, I want them to walk
in and immediately feel welcome and comfortable. So I make sure my house is
always looking good and smelling fresh.' Lori, 37, prides herself on her clean
and well-organized home that’s always 'company-ready'. Lori is disciplined about
more than just caring for her home – she’s also recently lost 95 lbs, and keeps
fit with a regimen of healthy eating, power walking and yoga.

So not only is she a good housekeeper, she keeps herself fit and trim, too!

Although all of the bios mention that the women have children and are busy, not a single one mentions a husband, partner, or other adult who might have some role in keeping a house clean. Or, for that matter, making the kids clean up after themselves.

Thanks to an anonymous commenter on another post for bringing my attention to this one!

Gendering Homes

These images come from the Panasonic: Ideas for Life website. This is the "home of the future." What do we learn about the home of the future?

Men work in the office:



The only other image of a man alone is in the home theater room. There are no images of a man focusing on or interacting with a child.

Women make sure the kids are ready for school:



And women teach the kids to cook:



The caption to the kitchen image says, "In the kitchen, the mother is the teacher and her children are the pupils."

Thanks, Patrick C.!


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"Married With Accessories," A Fashion Spread

Because when you're doing household labor, it is of the utmost importance that you are hot, in high heels, and headless.

(I especially like the one where she is trapped between the washer and dryer. What? Also, if I were her, I'd be trying to desperately and quietly cry for help, too. Get is? S.O.S.)

This post goes nicely with this recent one. And those little tow-headed children remind me of these.

From Marie Claire March 2005.

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Kitchen Cabinets with Naked Woman on Front

Susanne T. sent me this image. She is in Latvia and walks by a furniture store every day that has this set of kitchen cabinets visible from the street.

I think it's especially interesting that, unless Latvia has a much more egalitarian division of household labor than the U.S., it would be primarily women using this cabinet to do dishes. Susanne, any information about gender and housework in Latvia?

I Love My Roomba, But...

This commercial affirms the notion that only women can be expected to do housework because children and husbands are absolutely useless.



I find the wife's acceptance of her husbands ass-ish behavior (still her "best friend") particularly disheartening.

Hasbro Teachers Girls to Be Good Housewives

Here is a video for Hasbro's Rose Petal Cottage. Could be good for discussing gender socialization:



Great find, Sherryl K.!

"I Love It When You Talk Clean to Me"

Here is a link to a book called I Love It When You Talk Clean to Me: Porn for Women, published by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative.

"Oh look, the NFL playoffs are today. I bet we'll have no trouble parking at the crafts fair."


"As soon as I finish the laundry, I'll do the grocery shopping. And I'll take the kids with me so you can relax."

"Why don't I get a minivan, love, so you can drive something fun."


Thanks, Jessica C.!

Trivializing Women's Power

Power as cleaning products (note the appropriation of Rosie the Riveter):


Power as a flippy skirt and cute glasses (the text: "That flippy skirt backs up your girl power, do your glasses?"):

Power as beauty:

NEW: Claim "Victory" (over being too fat to fit into your skinny jeans) with Special K: