Christmas Chooks
Posted by hannahcolman on December 27, 2009
A Mom For Christmas!
Catherine Deveny, inaugural subject of The Dawn Chorus’ Women We Love bit, wrote a special Christmas message for Defamer Australia this year. You can read the whole thing here, and I strongly suggest you do, because Deveny’s yuletide musings are funny and relevant. I thought this part in particular would strike a chord with The Dawn Chorus readers.
I have for many years said having children and a vagina means December is spent being a slave and an emotional potty for most of the month. Yes that’s right. Christmas, turning back feminism 150 years.
(WARNING SALIENT POINT COMING. DON’T WORRY. IT’S ONLY A PARAGRAPH – THAT’S LIKE FOUR TWEETS – THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE COLUMN)
The amount of unpaid labor done by women at this time of year is astonishing. The blokes may pick up the ice, mow the lawn and carve the ham but I challenge you to look around on Christmas day and seriously work out how much of the food, thought, purchasing, organizing, cleaning, wrapping and social lubricant is provided by the women. Take away the woman’s effort and then see what you’re left with. No wonder they all chuck barneys, do their block and double their medication.
Merry Christmas, ladies!
Linda Radfem said
I do love CDeveny, and the paragraph about women’s unpaid labour is great, but there are parts of that article that buy into some nasty sexist/racist/ableist stereotyping.
It’s easy enough to expose the ugly truth of xmas, without all that.
caitlinate said
Mm, I didn’t really appreciate the Tiger Woods jokes.
Linda Radfem said
Yeah, and the bit about “Rehab Shirley”, “the Asian wife”, the texts from “some woman (who is obviously a slut)” and that stuff about women and meds.