11 Comments
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Linda Knight's avatar

So true, Kevin will absolutely not wash a dish or fold laundry but he has been seen vacuuming, and that's good enough for me!!

Joshua Irving Gershick's avatar

Linda! Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking"! Vacuuming is a good start! If you'd like to send Kevin for domestic agility training, please feel free to send him to me. No charge!

Carla Rowell's avatar

LOL, that’s right!

Joshua Irving Gershick's avatar

Carla! Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking"! Should I offer a remedial course in dishwashing?

Joel's avatar

Love this essay!

Joshua Irving Gershick's avatar

Joel! Thank you for reading “Queer People Talking”!

Aimee Liu's avatar

Delightfully told and depressingly true, Joshua. Like so much you write about. Men and women both need to read and heed this! One of the wrinkles in this subject is the # of men who retire, have absolutely no personal interests and resources, and choose certain forms of housework to keep themselves occupied. Which can be welcome, but also can come so late in the game that conflict is inevitable with a wife who has a well-oiled system for getting everything done efficiently and well-- and now is getting criticized and undermined for that system. Because obviously the man who just washed his first load of laundry knows best how to do laundry. My parents never resolved these conflicts over more than 30 years of retirement together! If only they'd had the sense to seek counseling.

Joshua Irving Gershick's avatar

Aimee! What a fascinating wrinkle! And you saw it up close and personally! Here's my favorite line: "Because obviously the man who just washed his first load of laundry knows best how to do laundry."

Lisa Morton's avatar

OMG, so much YES!

Joshua Irving Gershick's avatar

Appreciate you, Lisa! Your comment made me chuckle!