Patriarchy and the Dishes
my latest, a review of Beth Allison Barr's new book
In homes across the nation, housewives were tired of the vacuuming. It was not simply tired, though–there was a sense of existential distress that traveled from one to another, as women realized that their lives had become as small and tiresome as their domestic routines.
Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique documents countless stories from women, recounted in living rooms and in women’s magazines, of the psychic distress of housewives. This distress comes from a lack of self fulfillment that arises due to the monotony of modern housework and child rearing. It was written in 1963 and effectively launched the second-wave feminist movement.
Beth Allison Barr begins her new book Becoming the Pastor's Wife with a Friedan-worthy anecdote that applies the problems that occupied second-wave feminists to the church: who would do the bulletins? This is telling: Everything about Barr’s argument flows from the arguments and concerns of second-wave feminism, even if Barr herself does not necessarily state this so plainly.
Read the rest here.
Just a note: I’ll never charge for my writing, but if you want to support my work, you can now buy me a book. I promise to write about it!
What you have written in this review and in your most recent substack post, reflect some very helpful thinking on the topic of what the bible teaches on these related topics (and sometimes, more importantly, what it clearly ISN"T teaching).
You have a real gift in thinking and communication, If you ever teach a class on 'thinking for the purpose of clear communication'; let me know; I'll be the first to sign up! You write well and what you write is helpful, valuable and edifying..
I do hope you have a book forthcoming that covers some of what you've learned through your scholarship.
Wondering how many of these points managed to slip past the editing stage? When it's dissected like this, the book's argument seems quite unfocused and sloppy. In any case, this was a fascinating review.