Why would you post this to HN?
The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
21–30 of 96 posts
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an excellent book about the history of domestic technology called "More work for mother." It details how the more domestic tech we created, the more work shifted from the man of the house to the lady of the house and standards were raised Three hundred years ago, full-time wives did about 60 hours/week of housework. Today, with all our modern appliances, they still do about 60 hours/week of housework. In most…
60 hours a week? You think housewives are doing 8½ hours of solid house work every single day? Yeah, no.
Are programmers doing 60 hrs of work a week? Yes, if you count planning, talking about work to be done, thinking about work to be done, commuting (s/buying groceries, shuttling kids), mentoring, dealing with other people’s complaints & personal issues, dealing with red tape (forms to be signed, reports to review & give feedback on), etc, etc, etc
You can say those analogues fall outside of “housework” ... sure, but then it’s like “hey programmer, you’ve got 60 hours in the week, why isn’t that feature done yet?”
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#23"Over the decades, as versions of this housewife’s setup have eliminated dining rooms, pass-throughs, and farmhouse tables, the open-concept kitchen, centered around an island visible from all sides, has become not a labor-saving device but a stage on which (mostly) women are forced to perform." I gave up here. This is so stupid that I'm not sure what is the premise that I should critique. Also Im a guy who cooks in…
There's an excellent book about the history of domestic technology called "More work for mother." It details how the more domestic tech we created, the more work shifted from the man of the house to the lady of the house and standards were raised Three hundred years ago, full-time wives did about 60 hours/week of housework. Today, with all our modern appliances, they still do about 60 hours/week of housework. In most…
This all seems very reasonable but none of this is seems to be what is argued here.
This person hates islands and maybe a TV show featuring one because something about the idea of "being performative". It's just a bunch of trite crap.
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
60 hours a week? You think housewives are doing 8½ hours of solid house work every single day? Yeah, no.
Are programmers doing 60 hrs of work a week? Yes, if you count planning, talking about work to be done, thinking about work to be done, commuting (s/buying groceries, shuttling kids), mentoring, dealing with other people’s complaints & personal issues, dealing with red tape (forms to be signed, reports to review & give feedback on), etc, etc, etc You can say those analogues fall outside of “housework” ... sure, but t…
So basically: if you totally redefine the definition of the word work than it's true.
I'm going to second that I'm incredulous.
If only I could bill for thinking about work.
Also if raising your own family is "work" what isn't work? Yeah and me going snowboarding is just emotional labor to prepare for the work week so let's call that work.
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#25"Over the decades, as versions of this housewife’s setup have eliminated dining rooms, pass-throughs, and farmhouse tables, the open-concept kitchen, centered around an island visible from all sides, has become not a labor-saving device but a stage on which (mostly) women are forced to perform." I gave up here. This is so stupid that I'm not sure what is the premise that I should critique. Also Im a guy who cooks in…
I had the same reaction at the exact same point in the article.
Are couples out there really not sharing chore responsibilities? Maybe my wife just got lucky. Whatever.
In any case I don't see what the kitchen island could possibly have to do with it. I initially clicked on the article because I, a male, am excited about getting an island so that I can use it to cook for my family!
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#26Sitcom actors are always more attractive than normal people, and the sets they act in are usually way up there in terms of what it would cost to actually buy a house like that. It's because TV is aspiration with a little (a lot) of consumerist guilt mixed in.
I think it has less to do with anting to be aspirational and a lot more to do with how sets are decorated. Take an interior designer and give them an unlimited budget with the only requirement being it has to look good on camera and you’ll get amazing results every time. My house has bare walls because we don’t have a professional decorator. And everything else is slapdashed together because that is how real homes wo…
In this case it is probably both. The show is about people with seemingly perfect lives which (spoiler!) has dark secrets which threaten to disrupt their lives. That kind of story just works better with beautiful perfect homes etc. since that makes the contrast and threat stronger.
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#27"Over the decades, as versions of this housewife’s setup have eliminated dining rooms, pass-throughs, and farmhouse tables, the open-concept kitchen, centered around an island visible from all sides, has become not a labor-saving device but a stage on which (mostly) women are forced to perform." I gave up here. This is so stupid that I'm not sure what is the premise that I should critique. Also Im a guy who cooks in…
I think you're focusing too much on the women part? I see it as criticising the stage aspect: instead of being able to be secluded and focus on the task at hand in a practically small space, you are instead performing in a space visible to everyone which is much too big to be good for the actual task.
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#28When the author mentioned the “messy kitchen” I thought it was a joke. Now I realise, as a European, that American house design is just absurd form over function. If you need a second, practical kitchen to deal with your main kitchen not being usable for its ostensible purpose then something is horribly wrong.
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#29When the author mentioned the “messy kitchen” I thought it was a joke. Now I realise, as a European, that American house design is just absurd form over function. If you need a second, practical kitchen to deal with your main kitchen not being usable for its ostensible purpose then something is horribly wrong.
This is a straw man and a half. She literally gives a single example of this and implies it's normative
Do you really think this is normal?
Re: The big little lie of the TV kitchen island
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are programmers doing 60 hrs of work a week? Yes, if you count planning, talking about work to be done, thinking about work to be done, commuting (s/buying groceries, shuttling kids), mentoring, dealing with other people’s complaints & personal issues, dealing with red tape (forms to be signed, reports to review & give feedback on), etc, etc, etc You can say those analogues fall outside of “housework” ... sure, but t…
So basically: if you totally redefine the definition of the word work than it's true. I'm going to second that I'm incredulous. If only I could bill for thinking about work. Also if raising your own family is "work" what isn't work? Yeah and me going snowboarding is just emotional labor to prepare for the work week so let's call that work.
I’m just gonna pass on the family comment, but I’ll just say if you bill by the hour and don’t bill for time thinking about the (programming) work, then you’re playing yourself