Tuesday, June 23, 2009
WEEK 6
My Eureka moment of the week happened today while at work go figure! Ha Well we were having a department party for a girl who is going to be getting married on Friday and today was her last day until July 6th. Well I offered to make a cake and bring it in, so I did that. Well boy did that get a lot of attention. Comments ranged from my girlfriend had to have made it or my mom made it. Everyone was so shocked I had made a cake. I couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal. But then I looked back at this class and see that people always perceive women do the baking and men can’t cook. I actually was kind of aggravated that is was such a big deal. One women from another department said men are usually the ones who bring in the chips or pretzels because when you see them you no a man must of brought them in. That comment is what struck to me to think I just had my Eureka moment. Everyone loved my cake I made and still some doubted I had made it. I don’t understand why can’t a 21-year-old guy make a cake? It’s not that hard!!! This perception seems to still linger today and more men cook and bake then people realize. It’s not just a womens job and it’s something guys are stereotyped all the time as not being able to cook or bake! Well I think this is a issue that needs to be changed!
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I agree with you, it's something that negatively effects both women and men. Women are expected to bake and cook, putting them in a submissive role in which they are expected to cater to other peoples needs. Men, on the other hand, are ridiculed when they bake or cook, or people don't believe that the man made the cake ( like in your case. ) It's like when people find out a guy can cook all of a sudden its "wow, what a great catch." and things like that. The masculinity issue plays a huge factor in this, but why is baking such a feminine thing? Men grill while women bake? Not in all houses. I wonder what we can do to help reverse these stereotypes that are deeply rooted into our society?
ReplyDeleteCrhis,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you !! Most people think that men can't or don't cook..and some don't and can't; but there are guys who have learned how to. I know a guy who I used to work with and am still friends with who can cook really good !! I think have the image of the woman cooking and the man watching TV stuck in their heads. While this was true along time ago, it isn't so now. Some men learn to cook because they may enjoy it or becuase they don't have someone to cook for them. It's because of this image that the poeple you work with were not only shocked that you made something, but found it shocking that you were able to BAKE! I can only hope that this image won't e around for much longer and that society can be a little less ignorant.
Ilia
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI think it is wonderful that you baked a cake for the party. You get props because I cannot bake at all! Im not going to lie, I would normally think of a female to bake a cake or any type of a dessert and I would think the males would bring the chips or the drinks. Again, I think it's great that you baked. I bet you can bake better than some of the women in the office!
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThat kind of reminds me about the time I got cracked on by my friends because I helped my girlfriend make cupcakes for her nephew's party. Instead of being viewed as a bigger man for spending time with my girl and helping the cause, all the guys had jokes. Some people don't get it I guess. I like to think of these actions as being more of a man though since we are able to not even think twice about what people may say. I think I got this trait from my dad since him and my mom split cooking during the week evenly, so I was raised to think there's no problem with men in the kitchen. It'll probably still be a while for people to catch on but there's definitely nothing wrong with bringing in a cake to show someone support. Good job bro!
Chris,
ReplyDeleteGreat post (again) and let me just say it has been a pleasure reading your posts and watching you grow in this process.
Now for the cake. There was a "dirty little secret" in my house when I was growing up - I loved baking. At the age of 12 I was making cakes and desserts from scratch and my mother used to be so proud. However, I made everyone promise not to tell anyone I liked baking because of the stigma back in the 70's associated with men doing traditionally female things (I know I hate even saying this anymore - but that's the way it was). Well, word got out and I was teased unmercifully for weeks and to this day I have never baked again. Wow, until tonight I had no idea what effect this had on me, just one of those suppressed memories I guess. Guess who is going to be baking this weekend...
Chris I happen to agree with you that it was wrong for the group to question if you had made the cake or not. Personally I would have just eaten it and enjoyed the festivities instead of focusing on your baking abilities. As I stated in one of my responses to an earlier post my husband and all of his seven brothers can cook. They learned from their mother who is a wonderful cook. In fact my sixteen year old son called my mother-in-law a couple of weeks ago to arrange a cooking lesson with her to learn how to fry chicken (I can’t fry chicken). Even though he is just learning how to cook he makes a good cheese steak and has mastered the art of cooking in the microwave. I say all that to say that the women at your job are caddy. I am curious as to what age the women are this would give everyone a good idea of why they have this perception that men don’t/can’t cook. Their views are reflective of the traditional serotypes that women cook and men just eat. If they watch the cooking shows on television they would see that most of the cooks are men; hell it is a profession.
ReplyDeleteThe most surprising thing that I read in your post was how you referred to this person that the party was about..."a girl"? Not a co worker or a woman...ummmm....
ReplyDelete