Let’s face it: archaic gender norms have a negative impact on both men and women. The idea that certain roles or duties are “women’s work” or “that’s a man’s job!” stops many of us across the gender spectrum from having a red hot crack at life.
But the underlying factor that decides these gender divides is about to be exposed. I present to you: The Inside-Out Rule.
Let’s start with barbecuing, long considered the domain of men, even though we no longer rely on actual hunter-gatherers and fire-builders for food. You’re getting your meat on a plastic tray from the supermarket and a gas bottle from the local servo, mate.
Compare that to cooking in a regular household kitchen. The skills are essentially the same – you’re using a hot plate or grill to cook some food.
But the barbecue is outside where all your efforts can be seen, and guests are usually invited around to watch you perform this basic skill.
The kitchen, on the other hand, is stuck inside the house, where only your nearest and dearest tend to see your hard work. And even when people are invited around for a dinner party, they’re not usually gathered in the kitchen, admiring your efforts – most of the work is done before they arrive.
Then there’s vacuuming versus mowing the lawn. It’s the same basic motion, designed to keep the surface under your feet neat.
But lawn-mowing can be seen by the whole street, even randoms driving by. Meanwhile vacuuming usually only gets noticed when it hasn’t been done. It’s as if the magical fairies clean it the rest of the time.
Australian women spend 20.4 hours a week performing housework, compared to 13.3 hours for men, data from the University of Melbourne shows. That’s on top of full-time or part-time work.
And women still carry the weight of expectation when it comes to caring for both children and elderly relatives, with men providing just 5.4 hours per week, compared to 11.3 hours for women.
Time for everyone to step outside for some fresh air.