Post: #1

Its hard to keep track of whats in style these days among the hipster crowd: tight pants, stupid shirts, unkempt beards, the list goes on. Finally a development is emerging in the hipster scene that we can all cheer on, the hipster women are embracing old fashioned values and getting their asses back into the kitchen, where they belong. According to this article, " “The New Domestics” — people who are knitting, keeping chickens in their backyards, diapering their babies in cloth not because they have to but because they want to. And, of course, they’re documenting all of it on their blogs and Pinterest boards.

Here's the interview with journalist Emily Matchar, its an interesting trend:

Q: Our parents have spent decades rejecting the domesticity of their parents — the ideal woman in the 1990s was a Sex and the City-style careerist, you write, who stored extra copies of Vogue in her stove. So what gives? Why is this shift happening now?

A: Those of us in our 20s and 30s now are far enough removed from the enforced domesticity of the 1950s — the desperate housewives of Betty Friedan — that we’re able to look at these things in a new light. Some of us are going “Hey, these things are cool and fun and interesting, and maybe they’ll even save us some money or help the environment.”

Q: And a lot of these blogs have exploded since the 2008 recession. But weren’t we seeing urban knitting circles before that?

A: All these things have been building for years. Riot Grrrls — a punk subculture of the 1990s — started reclaiming “girly” skills under the feminist banner. That opened the gate for things like knitting circles to be considered hip and fun among a younger demographic. Those skills began to take on a new urgency for many people as the recession made people more concerned with self-sufficiency.

Q: How closely is the New Domesticity tied to class?

A: Things that were once the necessities of the poor are now hobbies of the educated middle-class. A handmade sweater used to signify that you didn’t have enough money to buy a “nice” store-bought one, while today a handmade sweater means you have enough leisure time (a real luxury these days) to knit. That said, I don’t think most people involved in New Domesticity are some kind of elite — most are middle-class, concerned with the fact that their standard of living will likely be lower than their parents’, and interested in new ways of balancing work and life.

Q: It’s interesting that both liberals and conservatives are embracing the New Domesticity. Could it be that this new “movement” is, in some ways, unifying?

A: New Domesticity is definitely unifying in some odd and unexpected ways. In areas like homeschooling and home birth, you see people coming at things from both sides of the political spectrum — ultra crunchy liberal types who want to homeschool their kids because they don’t want public school to destroy their creativity, and ultra-conservative Christians who don’t want their kids to learn about evolution. And these parents are meeting in homeschooling groups and sharing the same online homeschooling resources.

Q: A piece in New York magazine earlier this year presented the domestic “hipster housewife” as a feminist choice. How is this seen as a feminist choice now when it appears to embrace the unpaid labour that is still such a feminist battle?

A: The claim that New Domesticity is “feminist” — something many of the women in my book say — is really interesting and complex. It’s certainly true that New Domesticity types are bringing respect to the kind of work that was once de-valued because it was “women’s work” — baking, sewing, etc. — and that’s awesome. And it’s also true that raising children is real and valuable work. What bothers me is when some of the women I talked to said things like “I feel that this is a feminist choice because it gets me in touch with my essential, natural female self, which is all about nurturing.” Any time anyone says “natural” or “essential” I get very suspicious, and I do worry that we’re buying into a lot of dubious claims about the “inherent” differences between men and women.”

Q: You interviewed some New Domestics who are lesbians. Why does domesticity feel radical to them?

A: Gay people have historically had to choose between their love life and domestic family life — it’s only recently that gays and lesbians have been widely adopting and using reproductive technology to have children. As one woman told me, the idea that she could have both a partner and be part of a (neo) traditional family felt radical.

Q: Radical, how?

A: By radical, she simply meant that she was living the kind of life that would have been impossible for a lesbian for the entire course of human history. She didn’t have to choose between living with her lover, and having a traditional home and children. She could have both. That was new.

Q: Why do you think there is such a polarizing reaction to the New Domestics? People find them annoying?

A: I think whenever you discuss women, domesticity and the workplace, it’s always going to be contentious. But, generally, I think a lot of people have the sense that New Domestic types are smug or insular or holier-than-thou (like, is THAT baby food organic???). And while it’s true, you do get some smugness, it’s much more complex than that. What I tried to do is understand WHY people feel compelled to do these things.

Q: Are you a New Domestic? A closet crocheter, perhaps? Make your own pickles?

I’m a huge baker, though that’s hardly a secret! My husband has been making his own pickles lately, and I think I might try as well. My grandmother was an amazing seamstress, but I can’t sew a straight line on a pillowcase. That’s what IKEA’s for.

Soup: have any hipster chicks in NYC baked you a cake lately?

Post: #2

The title of the article should have been 'Feminists patronizing the domestic work of their grandmothers by doing it as a hobby'.

Post: #3

"a hand made sweater is a sign of luxury since you had the time to actually knit it!"

That's true. Our country requires people to work 60+ hours a week. I love the cynical nature of things. Maybe women will go back to their old ways all in the name of hamsterism go grrrl!

Post: #4

Going to be mighty awkward when all the feminine women I'm drawn to turn out to be liberal feminist lesbians living a radical traditional lifestyle. Honestly I give girls extra points for the ability to cook and sew, it's going to be trippy if they aren't really feminine, just bored assholes.

Post: #5

Q: And a lot of these blogs have exploded since the 2008 recession. But weren’t we seeing urban knitting circles before that?

A: All these things have been building for years. Riot Grrrls — a punk subculture of the 1990s — started reclaiming “girly” skills under the feminist banner. That opened the gate for things like knitting circles to be considered hip and fun among a younger demographic. Those skills began to take on a new urgency for many people as the recession made people more concerned with self-sufficiency.

So they can't make this decision unless some pop star says its okay for them?
Will there be a huge focus on irony and decide not to do stuff when they get tired of it?

Post: #6

Quote:Riot Grrrls — a punk subculture of the 1990s — started reclaiming “girly” skills under the feminist banner.

Post: #7

I think the mentality behind this is "I do it because I want to and not because a man says I have to" plus of course the attention whoring that goes along with it.

Post: #8

(07-21-2013 09:59 AM)Parlay44 Wrote:  I think the mentality behind this is "I do it because I want to and not because a man says I have to" plus of course the attention whoring that goes along with it.

So it's the "principle"? Still stupid. Doesn't surprise me though, that's women for you.

Post: #9

Let's see if they re-claim their non-sluttiness.

Post: #10

Also reclaim thinness and a sense of style and maybe even some manners

Seriously, I saw a girl last night walk out of a bar and scratch her ass lifting half her dress up in the process.

Post: #11

I think it's possibly a move for the better, but knowing feminists they'll probably demand that men get married and insist they are oppressing women by being single. Shit, they'll probably push for a law.

Post: #12

Quote:Q: How closely is the New Domesticity tied to class?

A: Things that were once the necessities of the poor are now hobbies of the educated middle-class. A handmade sweater used to signify that you didn’t have enough money to buy a “nice” store-bought one, while today a handmade sweater means you have enough leisure time (a real luxury these days) to knit. That said, I don’t think most people involved in New Domesticity are some kind of elite — most are middle-class, concerned with the fact that their standard of living will likely be lower than their parents’, and interested in new ways of balancing work and life.

So a handful of women who have lots of free time and sufficient financial backing are choosing to perform domestic tasks as a hobby, and this woman is rebranding it as some kind of "movement" so she can emerge as a spokesperson and make money off of it.

This is just someone trying to make a quick buck off the naivety of her peers.

Post: #13

I wrote an article about it for RoK. The thing about these women is that they are willfully clueless - they refuse to acknowledge that women are more satisfied by traditional sex roles. Their own decision to be wifely is just a personal choice, a quirk that should not be generalized into advice for others.

Three relevant paragraphs:

The author can’t bring herself to call these women ‘housewives,’ and instead uses the abomination ‘SAHM,’ for ‘stay-at-home-mom.’ She only calls the women before the 1960′s housewives. It’s as if she must christen these new ‘SAHMs’ as good, while the housewives of the 1950′s and before were bad. The women of prior generations didn’t get to experience being a worker bee, while today’s women do. So yesterday’s women were ignorant and sheltered, while today’s housewives are valiant and honorable for… making the same exact decision. Except she is less fertile and less beautiful than her grandmother would have been, at the time of marriage and childbirth. I suppose an ex-crackhead is superior to someone who has never touched drugs, because the ex-crackhead broadened her horizons and eventually walked away, while the abstainer avoided drugs entirely… or something. Never mind that the crackhead’s life has come under irreparable damage during that stint of ‘finding herself,’ or that many crackheads never actually quit the drug.

The real implication is that as a woman, you deserve applause for everything you do. You had a long career in middle management, and successfully retired to an empty home? You go girl! You got married at 30 and had several kids? Girl Power! There is no positive, coherent idea as to how people should behave; one can’t even note what makes women happy, and recommend they do that. But, as a woman, the one thing that you definitely shouldn’t do is limit your options. Don’t you dare get married at 23 and throw away that promising career in public relations. You must preserve your choice.

On occasion, I’ve made the mistake of disclosing some of my traditional views at work when asked. My confreres were offended and disturbed when they heard what I said. They said, “It’s okay if you just want this traditional life for yourself, as this private thing for yourself. But you can’t just go around saying your way is better! You’re not allowed to say that!” “But it is better; it would give people more meaningful, satisfying lives.” To the progressive, you can’t recognize that one way of life is generally superior to another, because that would be… imposing. Especially if you’re right, and your observations aren’t progressive.

http://www.returnofkings.com/7905/more-w...g-feminism

Post: #14

(07-21-2013 10:59 AM)Emmanuel Goldstein Wrote:  The author can’t bring herself to call these women ‘housewives,’ and instead uses the abomination ‘SAHM,’ for ‘stay-at-home-mom.’ She only calls the women before the 1960′s housewives. It’s as if she must christen these new ‘SAHMs’ as good, while the housewives of the 1950′s and before were bad.

They're just playing a game with semantics. Does it really matter whether knitting a fucking sweater counts as a feminist activity? They haven't realized that it doesn't matter what you call the things you do, what matters is their real world effects.

Post: #15

Or simply to a progressive all outcomes are "equal". Although some are more equal than others of course.

Post: #16

I saw this really weird goth-punk whatever chick with green dreadlocks on the train the other day, knitting a sweater. Now it all makes sense.

Post: #17

There's nothing to see here. Just a bunch of bored, upper middle class chicks trying to construct a heroic narrative out of mundane hobbies they use to fill their copious amounts of free time.

Oh, I'm not knitting this sweater to keep myself occupied; I'm doing it to 'reclaim' feminine activities and smash the Patriarchy™.

Post: #18

(07-21-2013 12:10 PM)Ocelot Wrote:  There's nothing to see here. Just a bunch of bored, upper middle class chicks trying to construct a heroic narrative out of mundane hobbies they use to fill their copious amounts of free time.

Oh, I'm not knitting this sweater to keep myself occupied; I'm doing it to 'reclaim' feminine activities and smash the Patriarchy™.

Bored, upper middle class "White" chicks.

Post: #19

This is just their way of admitting that maybe teh patriarchy was right - the homemaker role isn't evil O-pression, but in fact is a free manifestation of femininity - without actually admitting it.

They're doing the same things the "traditional" women did, but claiming to do it for different reasons. Way to stick it to da man!

Post: #20

(07-21-2013 11:23 AM)w00t Wrote:  I saw this really weird goth-punk whatever chick with green dreadlocks on the train the other day, knitting a sweater. Now it all makes sense.

Ill bet you she lives in 5 bedroom 1/2 Mill house.

Post: #21

This is just girls trying to feel power by framing these activities, or "re-appropriating" them in the same way that black guys started saying "Nigga" and gay guys call each other "faggot".

This woman is an example of a red-pill parrot. I wonder why she works so hard against feminism. Maybe she had a sex change or something

Post: #22

Now they need to add to the movement -- no more 20-plus stupid fucking tattoos. No more sleeves of tattoos. No more Chinese symbols. etc.

Post: #23

soup: that woman admitted she has two sons and is realizing their plight..

Post: #24

The hamster always comes full circle.

Post: #25

I know a few who live like this, they have all the "housewife" skills like cooking and knitting, and none of the "wife" skills like being slim, feminine, and attractive.

Multi-coloured hair, tattoos on every inch of wobbly flesh, like to crochet, bake cakes etc. Drink huge amounts with their friends and beta orbiters. All of them have some kind of "illness" that requires huge amounts of medication/painkillers.

"I'd hate myself if I had that kind of attitude, if I were that weak." - Arnold