Things got heated in the friend group when the quiet guy was praised

Yesterday, I told my friends that my wife was cleaning the windows, and someone said, “Is there such a man left who does that?” I replied, “What’s the big deal? It’s the glass of the house she lives in.”

Then the conversation suddenly escalated. One person said, “There are no more gender roles,” while another said, “A man shouldn’t be holding a cloth.” In the end, my friend got serious and said, “I’m condemning you; I even prepared some remarks about this.”

My concern is this: why does a man who does housework still seek extra applause or why is he applauded? Isn’t it normal? Or am I just getting too worked up about it?

You don’t get too angry, but I wouldn’t be lying if I said I didn’t laugh at the sentence. If she is cleaning the window in her own house, she hasn’t earned a medal, she has just gained the right to a cloth.

As a man, I find it strange to hear “kudos” just for cleaning the windows. Do we applaud when someone uses the sink too?

The phrase “it doesn’t suit you” really wore me out. So if fabric doesn’t suit you, does that mean dust does? :woman_shrugging:

It’s not about the glass here, it’s about the stage. Once someone takes the cloth in their hand, everyone starts to take sides.

@miniksercefan I condemn you and I am preparing 3 paragraphs for this analogy. Because it has indeed turned out that way.

I’ve been married for 18 years, and in the early years, when my wife washed the dishes, her mother would call and say, ‘I hope my son doesn’t get too tired.’ As if doing the dishes was like working in a mine.

It’s not the man who does housework; it’s the man who wants a press release when he does housework that is the problem.

There is nothing to be proud of.

This is where what we call invisible labor explodes. When a woman does it for years, it’s a duty; when a man does it once, it becomes a character reference. This is the crux of the debate.

Okay, but someone might have praised it with good intentions. Isn’t it exhausting to open a social case for every “well done” statement?

@tersminder we didn’t open the file, it’s already sitting open in the middle of the house. When a woman does it, no one sees it, but when a man does it, the spotlight turns on.

My dad used to sweep at home, and my mom took care of repairs. Even in the village, some things weren’t so rigid, I don’t understand why it gets so tense in the city :flushed_face:

When my neighbor’s husband washed the balcony, it was talked about in the apartment for two days. The woman washes that same balcony every week, and nobody even mentions her name.

I’m sharing grocery shopping, the bathroom, and vacuuming. I don’t want praise, but I’ve also cut out friends who say, ‘You’ve become a housewife.’

When I read the headline, I thought the guy was playing music while cleaning the window and doing a dramatic cleaning. That version was more peaceful.

@gecegece I wish the topic was that. Glass + song + cloth = the aesthetics of Sunday cleaning.

The discussion only got from cleanliness to character battle in the 16th reply, our pace is good :sweat_smile:

It’s normal for men to help with housework, what’s wrong with that? These are gender stereotypes.

I am 24 years old, my roommate is male, and we both clean. It’s still strange to talk about this like it’s an ideological issue.