Do women still know how to cook?

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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I think that the OP presented it crudely, but he has a point.

Not crude; just blunt.

people in general, if it isn't their proffession of their hobby, don't cook as much or as well as they used to. middle class families don't eat that many home cooked meals around a table, unless it is a special occasion.

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I believe this to be a catalyst, or perhaps a symptom, of the degradation of the nuclear family.

Originally Posted by mgm9128

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I feel the skill is skipping a generation, and the fate of nourishment of the American middle class rests on the shoulders of the prepared foods section at Whole Foods. What happened?
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Originally Posted by hendrix

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remarkably, women appear capable of opening doors for themselves. I don't know how they figured out how to do this, but perhaps it's evolution in action.

Originally Posted by haiguise

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The only thing I do is open doors and pretend to protect women when walking them to their car/apt from my place at night.... but standing up for women at tables, walking street side always... that's pretentious contrived BS. No need to treat women like they're worth so much more than you. Opening car doors seems to make some ladies weak in the knees, so whatever works in your relationship.

Originally Posted by ma1

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Chivalry is a stupid concept and unless you're dating golddiggers or 19 year olds with uggs it's ******* offensive.
-מ

Originally Posted by gomestar

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In conclusion: women should by the time they're 20 have a solid range of culinary skills established, and then develop these skills until marriage where they should combine them with post-meal sexual favors as a 'retainer' of sorts to the husband. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that they should also have well-honed dish washing, ironing, and mopping skills as well.

But too bad this current generation of women don't know their places, and because of this the 'merican family is weakened.

I can do without the cooking but the rest sounds pretty good.

Still, I want to know more about mistresses.

I made a thread about it a few months ago under my old username. I'm sure someone can dig it up.

I don't think this issue has anything to do with chivalry or equality, but rather a conditioned dependence on convenience and prepared foods. Why bother cooking when you can just buy something already cooked for you?

I don't know where you'd find stats on this sort of thing, but my guess based on personal observation is that home cooking is on the rise amongst relatively affluent couples and families (that's to say, those who can afford for one partner/parent to work less outside of the house).

Haven't you guys heard? The notion of a do-everything, have-it-all power mom of the 80's epitomized by Claire Huxtable imploded on itself because it turns out a person cannot do everything or have it all, irrespective of gender.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I don't know where you'd find stats on this sort of thing, but my guess based on personal observation is that home cooking is on the rise amongst relatively affluent couples and families (that's to say, those who can afford for one partner/parent to work less outside of the house).

Haven't you guys heard? The do-everything, have-it-all power mom of the 80's epitomized by Claire Huxtable emploded on itself because it turns out one cannot do everything or have it all, irrespective of gender.

you need to read the new yorker profile of sheryl sandberg

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I don't know where you'd find stats on this sort of thing, but my guess based on personal observation is that home cooking is on the rise amongst relatively affluent couples and families (that's to say, those who can afford for one partner/parent to work less outside of the house). Haven't you guys heard? The notion of a do-everything, have-it-all power mom of the 80's epitomized by Claire Huxtable imploded on itself because it turns out a person cannot do everything or have it all, irrespective of gender.
Well, if this is true, then there is hope. The problem lies within the fact that such an overwhelming majority of the population can no longer afford to subsist on a single income. This causes problems that reach far outside of the kitchen. Learning to cook again--making it a priority, which it should be--and actually sitting down as a family once more, would, in my opinion, be a step in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Manton

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Still, I want to know more about mistresses.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=231308

Originally Posted by gomestar

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In conclusion: women should by the time they're 20 have a solid range of culinary skills established, and then develop these skills until marriage where they should combine them with post-meal sexual favors as a 'retainer' of sorts to the husband. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that they should also have well-honed dish washing, ironing, and mopping skills as well.

But too bad this current generation of women don't know their places, and because of this the 'merican family is weakened.

well, you aren't far from the truth.

on the one hand, we are teaching kids that they shouldn't learn a marketable skill or be prepared for working in the workplace, then we teach them that they shouldn't have the skills needed to run a household, because that is benith them, then we teach them that they shouild expect to have a wonderful like full of cool toys and experiences.

my wife was a college lecturer and museum curator when we married. when my son was born she chose to give up her career, or suspend it, to raise a family. but nobody had ever tought her how to do the things needed to run a household, so it was a real struggle for years, and in some ways it still is.

it doesn't have to fall on the wife, but at least one, and preferably both, parents in a household should know how to do basic things around the house. this is being neglected.

Originally Posted by mgm9128

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I feel the skill is skipping a generation, and the fate of nourishment of the American middle class rests on the shoulders of the prepared foods section at Whole Foods.

What happened?

Do men still know how to socialize and adjust to society? I feel this skill is skipping a generation.

Originally Posted by Manton

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you need to read the new yorker profile of sheryl sandberg

Care to sum up?

Originally Posted by mgm9128

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Well, if this is true, then there is hope.

The problem lies within the fact that such an overwhelming majority of the population can no longer afford to subsist on a single income. This causes problems that reach far outside of the kitchen.

Learning to cook again--making it a priority, which it should be--and actually sitting down as a family once more, would, in my opinion, be a step in the right direction.

I think it's less important that a parent (mom or dad) cook at home, and far more important that families sit down to eat together (or do something together for an hour or so a day). If that means getting pizza or Chinese take-out, whatever. That said, home cooking can be much healthier and can help pass on cultural heritage. Growing up, my family ate a homecooked meal nearly every night of the week. Yes, my mother did most of the cooking--but not because anybody was oppressing her into it. In fact, my dad liked to cook, but my mother kept him out of the kitchen.

While I don't think it should automatically be either partner's role to cook, there are lots of often-discussed reasons for why women appear to embrace domestic work more than men do. I recently read an interesting article about a survey revealing that women do the majority of the house work even where they work equal hours outside the home compared to their husbands. It turns out, however, that the majority of the women who reportedly did more work around the house do so because they prefer to do it themselves, lest their dimwitted husbands eff things up.

Things are changing and domesticity may be on the rise, with a corresponding return to traditional gender roles, but the underlying reasons and circumstances have changed too.

In the UK the explosion of interest in celebrity chefs and food in general on tv and in the wider medium has made member of both sexes more interested in, and better at, cooking.

If anything the people I know in the US, seem even more interested in food and cooking, but then most of the people I know are from New York or California, so they are probably not representative.

Knowing how to cook seems less of a key skill for basic day to day life than it might have been in the past with ready meals and takeout widely available, but it has become a fairly common hobby/interest.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Care to sum up?

she thinks women of a certain class with a certain education are obligated to "have it all" and to browbeat their husbands into perfect 50/50 parternship in all things.

Originally Posted by gomestar

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http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=231308

Well, I was thinking about getting one for myself but that is such a buzzkill that I guess I will shelve that idea indefinitely. We can call it my own personal Operation Sealion.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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I think it's less important that a parent (mom or dad) cook at home, and far more important that families sit down to eat together (or do something together for an hour or so a day). If that means getting pizza or Chinese take-out, whatever. That said, home cooking can be much healthier and can help pass on cultural heritage.
I personally feel it ends with cooking at home. Buying a pizza, sitting down and actually eating it as a family is still a step in the right direction, but still not quite there yet.

I don't think it should automatically be either partner's role to cook, but there are lots of often-discussed reasons for why women appear to embrace domestic work more than men do. I recently read an interesting article about a survey revealing that women do the majority of the house work even where they work equal hours outside the home compared to their husbands. It turns out, however, that the majority of the women who reportedly did more work around the house do so because they prefer to do it themselves, lest their dimwitted husbands eff things up.

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I agree. I don't think it should be a gender based role either. The problem is we have raised a generation of men to rely on food from their mothers or spouses, without ever teaching, or merely showing them, how to fend for themselves. Then, when the time comes, and there is no one left to cook for them, they won't learn to cook, they will order a pizza. Because that's convenient. I do see hope. And I do see people taking initiative. But just because something is convenient, does not necessarily mean it is good. For example, Whole Foods. More than half the customers are going straight to the prepared foods section. Well, that's sort of missing the point of "whole" foods, is it not?