Women, food, and families / Nickie Charles and Marion Kerr.
- Nickie Charles
- Date:
- [1988]
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Credit: Women, food, and families / Nickie Charles and Marion Kerr. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Woman's work 41 when their partners were ill or otherwise unable to cook, or maybe cooked the breakfast on a Sunday. This type of cooking is obviously different from the regular provision of proper, family, meals which was what most women referred to when talking about cooking. This remained women's work in almost all the families we spoke to. Most of the women accepted this division of labour, indeed they felt it was part of their 'job' as a wife and mother to do all the cooking; He would [help] if I wanted him to as I say but I'm here, it's my sort of job ... if I'm ill, if I'm dying upstairs he might do a few chips for the kids. He just really doesn't like doing anything like that, he will do if I want him to but as I say I don't think he should have to. And this was often justified by reference to the fact that men worked outside the home and could not therefore be expected to cook. A woman at home all day looking after demanding toddlers, however, could and should. He can't very well cook through the day, love, 'cos he doesn't come home until ten past five so I can't very well expect him to go and set to and cook a tea, I mean some wives do ... he'd probably prefer to have me I'd think ... but he's easy to please, he's not a bit faddy. Some women, however, felt resentful that they were always the ones to prepare and cook meals: It's a bone of contention sometimes. He very, very rarely cooks anything. [When does he? What has to happen to make him cook?] Well me refusing to do so is really the only time he will, or if I'm ill, if I'm ill in fact he's very good, he's quite capable of doing so ... but even if he makes a sandwich he asks you, 'What shall I put in it?' So no, he doesn't. Dreadful really isn't it? And he's not really a male chauvinist either... I always blame my mother-in-law for it, his upbringing. Generally if men did cook they would cook at weekends or when they were on holiday. At these times the rigid sexual division of labour, which most women felt was dictated by the fact that their partners were out at work, could be slightly relaxed. But most men did not cook main meals at all and some were clearly considered to be totally incapable in the kitchen. One woman was asked whether her partner had ever cooked. She replied:](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18028706_0054.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
