A Woman Refuses To Cook Dinner To See If Her Husband Will Step Up
She couldn't believe how long she had waited just for him to serve her this!
TikTok We might like to think that, in 2023, we are long past traditional gender roles that assumes women are in charge of cooking meals for the family. But, as one woman on TikTok proved, we are not.
One woman set out to see if it was still the case in her household. Would her husband break the patriarchal standard or confirm it’s still alive and well?
Victoria Emes is a comedian and published author who often speaks on parenting. In a recent video, she recorded herself “conducting a gender-based social experiment in [her] own home.” Her reasoning is simple!
“There’s sometimes when I’ve absolutely f-----g had enough of being a woman,” she said.
She refused to cook dinner to see if her husband would step up.
This was one of those times, and she wanted to prove that “women do, in fact, do everything” and that men have no initiative. At 6:30 P.M., she told her husband, Rob, the time. Instead of realizing it was dinner time, he just acknowledged her announcement.
“It hasn’t occurred to him that we haven’t eaten yet,” she said.
Twenty minutes later, she shared that this is usually the point of the night when they finish eating. So, understandably, she was hungry. But Victoria refused to give up that easily and decided to grab a snack because this would be a long night! But she shared there’s some inkling of Rob potentially going to make dinner.
“He has opened the fridge and looked inside sort of vacantly twice,” she said. Though, she clarified, he had yet to take the initiative. And another half-hour later, he’s become fascinated with a butterfly chrysalis he found in their garden. But still no dinner!
At 7:35 P.M., it was time for their kids to head up to bed. Hopefully, she gave them dinner because it sure doesn’t seem like it was a thought on Rob’s mind! Despite getting hungrier, she is determined to see her social experiment through.
“I’ve got to do this for the sake of womankind. I’ve got to prove a point,” she said.
While Rob was tucking them in, she admitted she couldn’t help but try to send telepathic signals to him to make dinner. When he finished putting them to bed an hour later, it seemed like her telepathy worked. He went off to make dinner, and thirty minutes later, Victoria could finally eat. The meal was underwhelming, to say the least. It was fish fingers and french fries, and three hours too late!
“I hate men,” she decreed.
People took to the comments to share their similar experiences.
“I do this too. Same outcome. Also can your husband never make a decision? Mine always answers my questions with, ‘I dunno what do you think,’” one woman wrote. Victoria replied, saying that Rob was exactly the same.
“I have definitely done this. SEVERAL TIMES. And each time we talk about how I do everything around the house,” another added.
One younger woman couldn’t believe that Rob acted that way, which prompted Victoria to wonder if it was a “generational thing.” Victoria is correct in her assumption. A 2012 study from British Social Attitudes found that only 4% of 18 to 25-year-olds support traditional gender roles, and the percentages are higher for all age groups after, capping out at a whopping 28% for those 66 years old and over. Fortunately, the younger generations are doing away with sexist ideas, but Victoria proves it’s still not too late for others to change their household’s perceptions.
Ethan Cotler is a writer living in Boston. His writing covers entertainment, news and human interest stories.