Earlier quoted context omitted.
Definitely agree with most of the key points, but I do question the notion that men did all of the heavy labor. Maybe in upper-class homes, but in the poorer families (which were most people), "women's work" was physically demanding... laundry was outright dangerous, for example.
but I do question the notion that men did all of the heavy labor. There is no point at which I suggested that. In fact, I made some effort to try to guard against such an interpretation. But let me reiterate some of my main points in nutshell form: 1. Men and women both worked physically hard. (I stated that previously as: Women and men were both often very overworked .) 2. Some tasks that are currently viewed by a l…
Certainly don't mean that -- I think if anything the physical toil that women traditionally did in my grandparent's lifetime, especially given the challenges of health, etc is very much under-realized.
Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson talks in depth about the life of ranch families in the Hill Country of Texas, and about the deep impacts that things like electrification had on those families. Personally, I found it moving and it painted a picture of life that family lore, etc just didn't capture.