This is an interesting question because in deciding on a response, I got to thinking about what makes the chore challenging – hard to do or I don’t like to do it. Perhaps, it’s a bit of both?

Hands down, I don’t like to throw away the trash, so I simply don’t do it. It’s a task for my husband, Bryan. But me not liking to throw away trash goes way back to my upbringing and socialization. When I was growing up, my mummy, a single, for a period, Haitian mom, assigned us all tasks to complete while she was at work.

It was typical for her daughters to be assigned to the dishes, cooking, and the bathroom, and her only son was assigned to the floors and trash. Haitian culture is patriarchal, and chores were assigned based on gender roles. Mummy’s generation instilled this into us from a young age.

I’ve internalized much of this into my adulthood. It is convenient that Bryan, who is seven years older than me, doesn’t mind taking out the trash. It’s likely possible that he was reared with the notion that men do the grunge work. I will ask him.

Even if I decided to let go of gender-based (the ones I’m aware of) ideals and norms, I still would prefer not to take out the trash because I don’t like to do it. There are other chores I do that can be considered grunge work and challenging, like cleaning the stove and cleaning my walk-in shower, but I will do them, unlike taking out the trash.

Bloganuary Day 12