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less painful to you than trying to get me to do half. Or I'll suggest we
get a maid. She will do my share of the work. You will do yours. It's
women's work.
"I've got nothing against sharing the housework, but you can't
make me do it on your schedule."
MEANING Passive resistance. I'll do it when I damned well
please, if at all. If my job is doing dishes, it's easier to do them once a
week. If taking our laundry, once a month. If washing the floors, once
a year. If you don't like it, do it yourself oftener, and the I won't do it
at all.
"I hate it more than you. You don't mind it so much."
MEANING Housework is garbage work. It's the worst … I've
ever done. It's degrading and humaliating for someone of my
intelligence to do it. But for someone of your intelligence …
"Housework is too trivial to even talk about."
MEANING It's even more trivial to do. Housework is beneath
my status. My purpose in life is to deal with matters of significance.
Yours is to deal with matters of insignificance. You should do the
housework.
"This problem of housework is not man-woman problem. In
any relationship between two people one is going to have a stronger
personality and dominate."
MEANING That stronger personality had better be me.
"In animal societies, wolves, for example, the top animal is
usually a male even where he is not chosen for brute strength bu on
the basis of cunning and intelligence. Isn't that interesting?"
MEANING I have historical, psychological, anthropological
and biological justification for keeping you down. How can you ask
the top wolf to be equal?
"Women's Liberation isn't really a political movement."
MEANING The Revolution is coming too close to home.
ALSO MEANING I am only interested in how I am oppressed,
not how I oppress others. Therefore the war, the draft and the
university are political. Women's Liberation is not.
"Man's accomplishments have always depended on getting help
from other people, mostly women. What great man would have
accomplished what he did if he had to do his own housework?"

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