March 9, 2009 1:35 PM
Vatican: Birth control pill or washing machine?
In regards to the outrage and scorn heaped upon the Vatican for declaring the washing machine to be the technological advance which has done the most to advance women,
let's take a deep breath, consider the alternatives, then cast your vote:
Oh, and don't forget to share the survey - just click the Share button below:
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Comments
Barbara - seeing my wife and I took that seaside family portrait, I'd have to say the washing machine is definitely more freeing (as a family they have two sets of heavy duty washers!) They are wonderful friends of our and we can't imagine life without their family as it is.
P.S. - there's one more little one in their clan...He was just a twinkle in Mary and Greg's eye in that photo. We just celebrated his 3rd birthday on Saturday. :D
Posted by: Chris Arsenault | March 9, 2009 2:51 PM
Gosh, I'd never thought about it like that before!
Posted by: Hannah Dingwall | March 9, 2009 4:01 PM
My parents grew up very poor and I've heard the stories from them and their siblings of hard work. (Gosh!, I have two cousins--sisters--who lived without indoor plumbing until the late '80's when a hurricane came inland so far that it took their pitiful house down.)
Around 1970 or so, my grandma and aunt moved from the country into a small house near us. It had carpet, paneling on the walls, full electricity, new appliances, complete plumbing--and grandma's wringer washer. It sat in the bathroom. All of her life, even after she was given a fully electric washer by her adult children, she said that wringer washer was the best washer or any appliance that she ever owned. I guess that machine was quite liberating after using a wash board to do laundry for all of her children. And while they were quite poor, she loved all of her children and would never have given one of them up for anything, not even her wringer washer.
Growing up visiting aunts, uncles, cousins without indoor plumbing and full electricity, I have often thought about what appliances I could live without.
Hands down, I could give it all up (not easily though) except my washer! I like putting on clean clothes every day and just can't imagine having to do my laundry by hand.
Hmmmm......the technology to develop and advance the washing machine (even this fantastic front loader we now own) or birth control......no contest!
Posted by: von | March 10, 2009 12:06 AM
It is often that I think of my grandmother when doing laundry. She had some sort of early washing rig that hooked up to her kitchen sink. It washed and then spun. The clothes then headed out to the line to dry. I guess I was there a lot when that little metal box was humming with her always pristine sheets. I can still remember the smell of the process. I have the best memories of hanging out the laundry with her.
That metal box must have seemed like cutting edge technology after growing up on her remote farm.
So when I get bored doing my laundry I chastize myself.
I do wonder if women could afford the time for full time jobs if they didn't have a washing machine.
Posted by: kelly | March 10, 2009 12:33 AM
This is funny!
The new front loading machines are awesome....
Add TIDE for removing stains, and life is good.
Definitely liberating... and if you've got kids that fold/put away clothes, it's even better!
Posted by: Lisa | March 10, 2009 12:35 PM
Interesting idea! Here's a different perspective on the community of hand-washing. When my oldest daughter was a few months old, my grandmother came to stay with me. I proudly showed her my cloth diapers and how easy they are to use and wash -- just throw them in the washer, set the washer for a prewash cycle, then regular wash, then extra rinse. Her comment shocked me. "You moms today must be so lonely." (And to be honest, as a brand new mom, dealing with lonliness was my biggest struggle.)She went on to describe to me how she and her sisters would get together every day at each others houses while the kids ran around. The moms would wash diapers together or scrub one's floors together, visiting while they worked. Different topic, I know, from the birth control discussion, but it does show how technology and the quest for independence can be isolating.
Posted by: Amanda | March 12, 2009 11:33 AM
Amanda, I heard something similar from a sweet friend of my husband's family who used to watch my kids now and then.
Ponky, as we all call her, raised 8 kids in a trailer in rural Louisiana in, I guess the 60s or 70s. I never once heard her speak of that life as anything other than happy. She told me once that she and the other women in her neighborhood would put their kids on the schoolbus, then go from house to house with their coffee and buckets and clean each other's houses. She couldn't understand why we didn't do taht anymore. I surely can't -- I've been trying ever since to organize it ever since.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | March 16, 2009 7:18 PM
