Why Do Women Revert to Traditional Gender Roles at Thanksgiving?

Thursday November 24, 2011

If you're reading this on Thanksgiving, I'm going to assume you're not hosting the big dinner at your home. Neither am I -- that's why I have time to write. But after I shut off my computer, I'll be baking two pies and putting together a vegetarian entree to take to my sister-in-law's house for my extended family's Thanksgiving dinner.
I'm not an cultural anthropologist, but I did take enough college courses to be curious about why our behavior shifts during the holidays. Ever the raging feminist, at Thanksgiving I revert to a much more traditional role and do more cooking, cleaning and decorating than all the previous 10 months lumped together. This holiday-inspired industriousness lasts until the final vestiges of New Years are packed away, then I go back to subverting the dominant paradigm as it relates to gender behavior.
There isn't a lot of mainstream literature about this Thanksgiving shift. Oddly enough, those who research it tend to come from a consumer marketing background. What it comes down to is the theory that women cook, clean, scour, bake, and decorate for one reason. And that is...? The answer's in the article linked below.
And if you have an interesting story about how you divvy up Thanksgiving duties, share it by clicking on the second link. Now, off to bake some pies. Happy Thanksgiving!