
Until earlier today, I had no idea that the first Thursday in November held any particular significance (especially in light of the importance of the first Tuesday). However, during my regular trip through the blogosphere today, I discovered that there is a group out there that has declared the first Thursday in November to be National Men Make Dinner Day.
It's a 'holiday' designed specifically for those men who rarely get near the stove and know the refrigerator mostly as a place where the cold beer and soda is kept. The website that is devoted to this day offers a set of qualifications and perky guidelines in order to suss out whether 1). you're the type of man who should be participating and 2). whether you're really prepared to take on the evening meal.
I find this arbitrary national holiday more than a little offensive. It assumes that there are hordes of men out there who do absolutely no cooking and that after a year of not cooking, they can redeem theyselves with a single night in the kitchen. Additionally, if you want your partner to feel at home in the kitchen do their share, throwing them in there without instruction or assistance is asking for unhappiness and frustration. Lastly, I'm really irked at how sexist and limited the view of this holiday is. What about same sex couples, people who live in shared housing situations and those homes where it happens to be the man who does all the cooking.
Instead of this poorly constructed and limiting holiday, I'd like to offer an alternate suggestion. What about simply choosing a day (and I think this should be monthly, not just yearly) where families get together and consciously prepare dinner together. Parents, grandparents, kids, partners, roommates and friends. Teach one another that getting dinner on the table doesn't have to drudgery and that everyone can participate. If we were all to cook like that, we could put this insipid little holiday right out of existance.
[via Elastic Waist]














