I feel like this is kind of a weird post for me to make but I just want to say that I think appreciating women is good.
I’ve spent a lot of time lately being one of a few women in a group of mostly guys, and I’ve noticed that like, a really large amount of the stuff that gets done in order for people to hang out and have fun is done by the women. Women are more likely to plan social events, make reservations, get groceries, cook food, clean up afterwards, et cetera.
And I don’t necessarily think the fact that this work is disproportionately done by women is a bad thing. But I do think it’s good and important work, and you should appreciate the women who do it. Thank them. Compliment their cooking. Do anything that makes it clear that you noticed.
And I’m hanging out with 22-year-olds, but I think this dynamic gets even stronger once women start to have kids and drop out of the workforce. When you have a job, you get the unmistakable signal that you are appreciated in the form of a paycheck. When you are doing housework and taking care of kids, all you have is your husband and children’s gratitude. Husbands and children can be kind of oblivious to this. And I don’t think the thing over the last fifty years where society decided to value traditionally feminine work less has helped.
So yeah, there’s my feminist praxis of the day. I have actively been trying to do this, and while I have no idea if it helps the women I thank/compliment, it makes me feel better.