No kidding. The enforcement is often kind of brutal too. As a couple the house not being clean creates a pervasive sense of judgement that falls on the feminine half of a couple. It doesn’t matter if they are a killer breadwinner with an amazing career and winning at life the messaging and conditioning from childhood and enforced by older friends and relatives is still that they are at their core a failure if their house doesn’t meet regulation. That judgement is not extended to the masculine partner because he’s kind of expected to be a hapless subordinate who maybe helps but is not responsible for it. That old “sorry about the state of the place” is practically just begging for social leniency from deeply ingrained shame.
If your fem partner is neurotic about cleanliness that’s basically why. They are made to feel horrible about themselves when company comes calling.
I didn’t understand her fixation on these kind of expectations until I really got to know her family and discovered more about her upbringing. I didn’t see it initially and if I’m honest, didn’t really believe it, but slowly I came round to understanding. If the shoe was on the other foot I’d push back a lot too.
It’s not just family and upbringing it’s kind of enforced by basically everyone a little bit. House is a mess - oh (fem partner) must be struggling poor dear. The state of the house just sits in a corner of their mind all day everyday like a weight dragging them down like the telltale heart.
Once you see the effect of it you can’t really unsee it.
This is so real, I swear to god. I joke about how neurotic I am about housework, and my house is always pristine, but still my worst nightmare is someone stopping by unexpectedly. My house can be spick and span and I’ll still apologize for the state of it.
No kidding. The enforcement is often kind of brutal too. As a couple the house not being clean creates a pervasive sense of judgement that falls on the feminine half of a couple. It doesn’t matter if they are a killer breadwinner with an amazing career and winning at life the messaging and conditioning from childhood and enforced by older friends and relatives is still that they are at their core a failure if their house doesn’t meet regulation. That judgement is not extended to the masculine partner because he’s kind of expected to be a hapless subordinate who maybe helps but is not responsible for it. That old “sorry about the state of the place” is practically just begging for social leniency from deeply ingrained shame.
If your fem partner is neurotic about cleanliness that’s basically why. They are made to feel horrible about themselves when company comes calling.
I didn’t understand her fixation on these kind of expectations until I really got to know her family and discovered more about her upbringing. I didn’t see it initially and if I’m honest, didn’t really believe it, but slowly I came round to understanding. If the shoe was on the other foot I’d push back a lot too.
It’s not just family and upbringing it’s kind of enforced by basically everyone a little bit. House is a mess - oh (fem partner) must be struggling poor dear. The state of the house just sits in a corner of their mind all day everyday like a weight dragging them down like the telltale heart.
Once you see the effect of it you can’t really unsee it.
This is so real, I swear to god. I joke about how neurotic I am about housework, and my house is always pristine, but still my worst nightmare is someone stopping by unexpectedly. My house can be spick and span and I’ll still apologize for the state of it.