At a recent speech by Hillary Clinton, a supposed protestor held up a big sign reading Iron My Shirt. Hillary Clinton immediately denounced the sexism of the taunt. Some people have suggested that the protestor was a plant.
I have no idea as to whether the protestor was a plant or someone genuinely anti-Hillary trying to make a point about how women should be doing household chores rather than participating in politics.
However, I do know that the slogan Iron My Shirt should not be a taunt. The truth is that there is nothing degrading about the necessary household tasks of domestic life. Dusting and polishing, mopping and scrubbing, sweeping and vacuuming, laundering and ironing are all worthwhile chores that help make our lives livable.
Unlike some Men’s News Daily posters and readers, I don’t yearn for an era of strict gender roles. Both women and men possess a rich variety of talents. It is perfectly fine with me to see women in politics and men performing domestic chores. The problem is that expanding either gender’s roles ought not to lead to a degradation of the traditional arenas — but it often does.
Despite stereotypes, not every woman is wonderfully clean and tidy and not every man is sloppy. Some women are not well suited for domesticity and some men may be perfectly fitted for it.
But a woman ironing a shirt is not something bad. It is something good – providing she is effective enough at ironing to get the wrinkles out!
