Power to the ladies with the help of fairy cakes
Regular readers of my blog no doubt know that I love to cook. Since I am not working at the moment it usually means that I am responsible for doing most the cooking throughout the week. It makes sense really since Maz is busy at work and I like the fact that I have diner ready for her when she gets back. For us it is just a practical solution to our circumstances but recently a bit of debate has arisen here in the UK as to whether cooking is a woman’s job and more to the point it should be considered a feminist activity.
The crux of this argument has come from celebrity chef and self proclaimed domestic goddess a Nigella Lawson. She has suggested that while male chefs get all of the attention when in reality the country is fed by an army of women all cooking and baking at home. Further to this she has suggested that baking in particular should be considered a feminist activity and as such should be praised and encouraged.
I certainly grew up in a household where my Mother did all the cooking. My Dad would knock up a mixed grill every Saturday night or so but that was about it. I never considered however that it was a woman’s role. My Dad worked and Mum didn’t so it made sense just like it does with Maz and me. In fairness to Nigella I think her argument is that following on for the feminist revolutions of the 70’s women these days feel somewhat lost saying they want to be housewives or stay at home Mum’s and in reality we should commend them.
While I agree that there is no shame in being a domestic goddess as such arguing that cooking is an activity for any one sex does not help the situation. In an age when children as young as three years old can identify fast food brands we should be encouraging healthy eating and cooking skills in all. I was still part of the generation where in schools girls got taught cooking and boys woodwork. We should instead be teaching all of the next generation the importance of good nutrition and healthy living rather than highlighting it for one sex.
It has reached the point now that the government is talking about putting warning labels on junk food. To be honest if it has reached the point that people need telling that eating six chocolate bars a day is not good for you then we need to go back to basics and look at how we are educating our youth in the first place rather than warning later in life.
What do you think? Should we be praising our nation of female cooks or should we be concentrating on education and skills for all?
