“… no one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or more disdainful, than a man anxious about his own virility.”
— The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir a.co/gl8cTQL
Becoming a woman: The gender theories of Simone de Beauvoir - Rewriting The Rules
One is not born, but rather one becomes, a woman.
—Simone de Beauvoir
Here she is arguing, from autobiographical experience and from the available evidence at the time, that the things associated with womenhood (such as being passive, concerned with appearance, childlike and in need of protection, and wanting to care for others) are imposed upon women by society rather than being innate characteristics they are born with.
I have learned from firsthand experience what women have known for generations. The work of my true potential is enormously undervalued. And yet, it’s important and profoundly satisfying work, at least to me.
Homemaking and art? That’s woman’s work as far as my generation is concerned. Progress is being made on that front by each of the generations that are following me, but art and homemaking? That would have branded me a “pussy.” In fact, it still does with men and women closer to my generation. Being taken care of financially by a woman? Pussy!
My art photography is a spiritual devotion to seeing. Daily meditative walks are the backbone of it. Insight develops over time.
Folding laundry is a mindfulness practice as far as I am concerned. Cooking is a spiritual practice of deep devotion, and feeding someone a profound act of love. Doing it daily is a devotional practice of love.
I am one of those few people who actually enjoys homemaking. Certainly, I am one of that even rarer species, a cisgender man who actually enjoys housework.