Problem
This prompt comes with a little introduction! In two-paycheck families, how do spouses divide their responsibilities? Our textbook cites sociologists Kingsley Davis who argues that "as long as women make an unequal contribution to the overall household income, they will do more work around the house" (Ferrante, 2016, p. 424). To be honest, I'm a little surprised a textbook published today would still be citing this? At this point decades of feminist sociology would suggest that it's at least as likely that the opposite is happening: as long as women are expected to do an unequal share of the household labor they will be unable to maximize their career.
Look at the chart above. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild, in The Second Shift, points out that "for each of the five daily household tasks which the husband performs at least half the time, the wife is about 3% less likely to have thoughts of divorce." The five tasks were meal preparation, food shopping, child care, daily housework, and meal cleanup, but I want to talk about food! Men traditionally resist cooking (and shopping for food) for many reasons, but I want you to try and solve the easiest: simple ignorance. Cooking is hard, and if you've never really had to prepare meals before, it's a lot to learn (see here for some background on where this assignment came from) For this post I want you to do three things:
A. Document the creation of a meal that you could feed, at least, a family of three that includes a child, going from a shopping list to a recipe, to eating! Can you give a helpless incompetent spouse a meal they can create to save their marriage?
B. Discuss the meal you've created in terms of (a) expense (b) time (c) nutrition (d) flavor (e) Instagram ability.
C. Finally, tell us one reason why you think your meal could help the problem on household gender inequality, and one reason why you don't think it would help.