Thursday, June 28, 2012

Dear Feminists

Dear Feminists,

You often have discussions about housework.  Specifically, who does more of the housework in a household and why.  That's great!  It's good to discuss these things, for a variety of reasons.

Over on Feministe today, I noticed a couple of comments like this one:
I will never understand why anyone does regular housework in the first place.
It's fair, I think, to discuss cleanliness standards.  Different people have different thresholds for cleanliness or expectations for what a home should look like, and it can be good to discuss where those ideas come from and whether or not we should adjust them.

In that discussion, some of you may be overlooking something.  There's a narrative around certain demographics, particularly people of color, that they're dirty.  Literally, the word "filthy" is put before their race in casual (obviously racist) conversation.  As a result, I can see why some people of color in particular might take pride in a clean home.

Please keep that in mind as you carry on this conversation.  Thanks!

With love,
Frank Lee

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