Sunday, September 27, 2009

So why even comment on it?

Today TheHusband bought thick thread and new needles and hemmed his jeans. Both new pairs. They needed about 2" taken off them and he wanted to do it by himself.

I wanted to make curtains. But I showed him how to wind a bobbin and thread the machine, as it's relatively new to us, and then let him be.

He hemmed the pants while I pinned the new curtains together* and then I got to sew my curtains before he booted me back off to sew his other pair of pants.

Now, I'm pretty progressive and equitable in our relationship. He vaccuums, I cook. He does the washing, I do the dishes and clean the bathroom/toilet. Or vice versa. Or whatever. We both work in retail but he does a more manual job. He likes to ride, I like to swim.

So why today did I have the urge to go and change my FB status to something pithy like "is waiting for her husband to finish hemming his jeans" like it was something noteworthy that a guy was on a sewing machine? Is it still noteworthy that a man was doing a typically-female pursuit? His dad makes horse rugs and taught him how to sew at a young age. I on the other hand detest hemming and would rather not wear a pair of pants at the moment, than hem them. It's just a skill and nothing particularly in need of breasts or ovaries (or a baking fetus) to do it.

And yet I am blogging about it.


*Easiest curtains - buy heavier fabric and some cheap tab-top curtains, and sew a panel of one onto the front of the other. It looks neat and unique while also recycling some really daggy old tab-tops that we had, and

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean. I feel a little guilty about thinking it noteworthy or remarkable that T does 80% of the cooking - it should be normal and "yeah, so?" in this century, but it still isn't.

My late father never, to my knowledge, cooked and once asked me where Mum keeps the teabags; if I'd had a brother, he'd probably be just as useless domestically. So I'm pleased and relieved that other men (including my nearly-12 year old nephew) aren't.