• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Home Made Modern

| DIY - Cooking - Crafting | Blog

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Home Made Style
    • Budget Decorating
    • Crafts
      • Kid Crafts & Activities
      • Knockoffs
    • DIY
      • Furniture Facelifts
    • Easy Entertaining
    • Gift Giving
    • Home Made Holidays
      • Christmas
      • Fall
      • Halloween
      • July Fourth
      • Spring & Easter
      • Summer
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s day
      • Winter
    • Home Organization
    • Outdoor Projects
    • Shortcuts & Tips
  • Recipes
    • Baking and Desserts
    • Kid-Friendly Recipes
    • Quick and Easy Cooking
  • Life at Our House
    • Blogging Life
    • Family
    • Home Updates
    • Motherhood
  • Retail Therapy
    • Tightwad Tuesday
  • Contact Me

Is “Domestic” a Dirty Word?

October 9, 2008 by Valerie Ott 1 Comment

Anyone who knows me well is aware that I’ve always been drawn to activities associated with (cringe) “being domestic.” I’ve always liked to bake and craft things, and I enjoy giving hand made gifts. My first apartment after college was a second-story, one-bedroom in Bowling Green, Ohio. It wasn’t much from the outside, but the inside was filled with light and had gleaming hardwood floors. It also had two doors leading to the bedroom, which I loved for some reason, and a built-in cabinet in the dining room. I loved that apartment. I even liked to stay home on Friday night so I could clean with the music turned up loud, and delighted in grocery shopping for myself. I made curtains for my bedroom, and even decorated lampshades. Despite the obvious pleasure I took in these domestic pursuits, I didn’t embrace this about myself. Truth be told, I still struggle with it.

Somewhere along the way, women have learned to disparage domesticity. Perhaps the women’s liberation movement, in teaching us that we had a part to play in the world OUTSIDE the home, also implied that tasks associated with the INSIDE of the home were stifling, dull, and somehow beneath what we are capable of. Labeled as “women’s work,” activities like baking, quilting, knitting, sewing, and cooking are often dismissed and even ridiculed. (I’ve been called “Suzy Homemaker” on more than one occasion, which has made me even shyer about admitting that I, indeed, enjoy being a SAHM.) Domesticity is often devalued, making some women who leave the workforce to stay home with their children very self-righteous about their choice; I think it’s because they feel somehow inferior to their working-mom counterparts.

Recently, though–I’d say just in the last five years, judging from the perspective of the publishing industry–there has been an effort to make domestic pursuits cool. Women have begun to figure out that domestic pursuits don’t have to limit our lives, but can actually enhance them. Books like Stitch ‘n Bitch and The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller are great examples of that effort, and, I hope, so is Home Made Modern.

One of the basic premises of Home Made Modern, in fact, is the belief that our own corners of the universe should be personalized spaces that reflect who we are. This doesn’t mean you have to monogram everything in sight, hand knit sweaters for your entire family, and aspire to Martha-esque perfection at all times. Rather, contemporary domesticity is about picking and choosing what works for you. It also doesn’t mean that devoting time to these pursuits will be isolating. The resurgence of things like knitting circles proves that modern crafters enjoy a sense of community, meet up often to discuss their work and their lives, and even blog about their craft. Finally, Home Made Modern believes that domestic pursuits aren’t frivolous, but practical. While you can still find plenty of tea cosies and weird outfits for concrete geese at craft fairs across the country, I personally don’t have the time to make anything that isn’t really useful, or at least a personalized enhancement of my surroundings.

While it still takes practice on my part, too, I think if you’re the least bit inclined to be domestic, embrace it. Own it. Take pride in your home and yourself, and exercise your freedom to create.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Related

Filed Under: Motherhood

Previous Post: « Fall Fun with All Things Apple
Next Post: The Gentle Arts »

Reader Interactions

Share

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Explore

Comments

  1. Samantha's Mom says

    October 10, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    I have always admired your domesticity and wish I had more of those qualities. I wish it came more natually to me, honestly. I agree….embrace it and enjoy the fact that you are good at it and find pleasure in it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Looking for Something?

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Reader Favorites







Footer

Connect With Me

Val is the Home Accessories Expert for About.com and the author of Home Made Modern. Learn More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
soap dish
pretzel rods for Valentine's Day class treat
word of the year 2017
yarn pom-pom wreath
Find thousands of craft supplies online!

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

HMM_Logo

I'm super-happy you're here!

Sign up to be inspired.

Guys, I have too many ideas and not enough time to blog about them.  Sign up and I'll send you exclusive and FREE ideas for making your house a home.

Thank You!
Something went wrong!
Privacy policy

We respect your privacy and will never share your information