Blog Post 4 Chelsea
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I found it interesting that in both Duck as well as Colliers works, the idea of labor was segregated into male and female work. The argument of who worked harder was based on traditional roles that men and women typically played in that time. So my question is, if the roles were reversed, and the man was the one staying up late and waking up early, doing multiple little tasks, then would he be seen as the harder worker? If the woman was out working in the fields, only working from dusk till dawn verses through the night at times too, would she be seen as having an easier job?
My interpretation of these two pieces is that the work is being put into categories, male and female tasks, and this is making it seem to be an obvious choice of who is the harder worker. I think if the genders were to switch roles the peoples opinions would most likely switch as well. Not because their opinion of which job is more challenging has changed, but because there will always be something in society that cause the woman to be favored when it comes to who has the harder job. If it is physical labor then there is the argument that the woman is not as strong as the man, and the physical exertion on her body can be more fatiguing than it would be for a man. And then if it is lighter work, just more of it, it will be said that the woman is busier and has so many other things to do, even if a man has to do the same exact thing. This is based on biased opinions that can only be affected by individuals who have experienced similar forms of both tasks, and can truly say who may have the more tedious job.
The issue you raise, Chelsea, is still an issue today: some people say that being a housewife, or homemaker, isn’t a “real job,” meaning that women aren’t paid, and can’t get fired. Women who hold this job often say, indignantly, “yes, the fact that I’m not getting paid is the whole point!” What I’d like you to work on, however, if you revise, is making your discussion more clear: When you write “My interpretation of these two pieces is that the work is being put into categories, male and female tasks, and this is making it seem to be an obvious choice of who is the harder worker,” it may be clear to you, but it’s not quite clear to me: can you use specific details about men and women’s work in order to get at the issue of whose work is harder, and why? You also mention difficulty of labour vs. time spent labouring, and I think that you can make your views about that more clear. Right now, you’ve written “And then if it is lighter work, just more of it, it will be said that the woman is busier and has so many other things to do, even if a man has to do the same exact thing.” I can’t tell — are you saying that the woman’s labour is being undervalued, or the man’s? Or are you perhaps saying that this is the way that people dismiss women’s work as being worth less?