Shopping Cart
Your Cart is Empty
Quantity:
Subtotal
Taxes
Shipping
Total
There was an error with PayPalClick here to try again
CelebrateThank you for your business!You should be receiving an order confirmation from Paypal shortly.Exit Shopping Cart

Tiny Tomes® Publishing

Constance B. Wilder

Blog

« Back to Blog « Older Entry | Newer Entry »

Julia Child and Women's Liberation

Posted on October 7, 2013 at 11:51 AM
I started reading this weekend Dearie  The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz; it's wonderful. It is more than I imagined. I thought I was going to be reading another story about how Julia Child revolutionized how we cook. Even how she is obviously the reason why watching cooking shows on television has become a national past time. I like to cook, my husband Larry--not so much. He could make a mean peanut butter and jam sandwich and excelled at fresh-squeezed orange juice--but that was about the extent of his prowess in the kitchen. But we both used to love to watch Emeril Lagasse's show on the Food Network and the phrase "kick it up a notch" became a family favorite. Even when Larry was weak towards the end and food wasn't so appealing, we would still entertain ourselves watching Emeril.

That's how I viewed Julia before I started reading this book. I thought she kicked cooking up a notch and taught women how to be more inventive in the kitchen. I never realized before reading Dearie  that she grabbed the attention of women in the early 1960's, much in the same way the Women's Liberation movement was opening our eyes. Here's an excerpt from  Dearie

"The story of her emancipation and self-realization runs parallel...to the struggle of post-war modern American women: the dearth of opportunity available to her, the lack of respect for her untapped talents, the frustrations of the educated housewife who felt bored and trapped by the traditional role that had been handed to her by the tedium of housework, the demands of motherhood, being the perfect cheerleader, the perfect hostess...The domestic life of that era was fraught with dissatisfaction."

In the book, Spitz quotes journalist Laura Shapiro "Homemakers read the Feminine Mystique for the same reason they watched the French Chef. They had been waiting a long time and they were hungry."

WOW! Those words blew me away. I never made the connection. I married my first husband in 1967 two weeks after I graduated from college. I was one of the homemakers described in the earlier paragraph. I loved my children with all my heart, but I felt like a duck out of water most of the day. I was confused about why I went to college and what I was doing with that education on a daily basis. I was not a good homemaker, so bad at keeping up with the laundry that one day my husband had to wear his jock strap to work because he had no clean underwear.

In my mid-twenties with two children who were two and five years old, I started to volunteer at our local political headquarters. A few hours a week turned into a paid position, and from there I went on to build a full-time career.

Did I know then that Julia Child was one of my heroes along with Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Marilyn French? No, I did not. But in retrospect because of reading this book, I now know she was. 

I did like to cook. I did not like the other aspects of housework -obviously! I recall getting Julia's books at the library and being charmed by watching her on PBS. The apocryphal story about her dropping a turkey or chicken on the floor during a televised episode was actually Julia flipping a potato pancake in the air and a portion flew out of the pan--she patched it up. The best thing that came out of that incident was her legendary remark "if you're alone in the kitchen, who is going to see."

I was fortunate to see Julia in her eighties speak at a luncheon in Rochester, NY. I got to shake her hand, but now I wish I had been able to thank her for more than helping me to become a better, fearless cook. I wish I had the chance to thank her for helping me to become a better, fearless person.

The image in this post is Julia's omelet. A staple in my kitchen--a kitchen which now provides sustenance for mostly me. I have it at least once a week. I found out from reading Dearie --Julia made this omelet in her first appearance on WGBH-TV on a science show in 1962. The show that launched her career and changed how we cook forever.

Categories: beginnings, recipes

Post a Comment

Oops!

Oops, you forgot something.

Oops!

The words you entered did not match the given text. Please try again.

208 Comments

Reply Sam
2:46 AM on October 16, 2013 
Interesting. Julia's husband and Steve worked for the same part of the State Department. I saw lots of Julia's life in my life, but in different ways than you did. I never felt that I needed to be liberated, but she did teach me some cooking stuff and what not to worry about. This was an interesting and thought provoking post.
Reply gerfuns
5:55 PM on February 14, 2022 
gerfuns 7b17bfd26b https://seesaawiki.jp/reolegniever/d/Free%20Karna%20Dual%20Watch%
20Online%20Subtitles%201080%20X264%202021
https://alinenes.playing.wiki/d/Hackers%20Toefl%20Ibt%20Listening
%20Mp3
https://seesaawiki.jp/ciospetamquo/d/Download%20Cims%20Drug%20Ind
ia%20Pdf%20Full%20Edition%20Book%20Rar%20%5fHOT%5f
https://diflanumbpost.playing.wiki/d/Disk%20Drill%20Professional%
202%2e0%2e0%2e339%20Crack%20With%20Activation%20Key%20Download%20
For%20Win%20Mac
https://wietigdiomo.playing.wiki/d/FantaMorph%2eDeluxe%2ev5%2e2%2
e5%2eIncl%2eKeymaker%2dCORE%20Free%20Download
https://perquimenhand.memo.wiki/d/Humorous%20Essay%20The%20Most%2
0Embarrassing%20Moment%20Of%20My%20Life
https://buttpulhornpha.memo.wiki/d/%23%23VERIFIED%23%23%2032bit%2
0Growt%20Windows%20Ultimate%20Activator%20Full%20Crack%20Iso
https://seesaawiki.jp/pailadoding/d/English%20Babu%20Desi%20Mem%2
0Hai%20Full%20Movie%20Hd%201080p%20Download
https://ralawilfi.game-info.wiki/d/%5bHOT%5d%20Sims%203%20%2erar%
20Pc%20Activator%20Download%20Crack
https://missmadbackna.memo.wiki/d/Acronis%20True%20Image%202020%2
0Utorrent%20Exe%20Crack%20%5f%5fLINK%5f%5f%20Windows%20Full
https://diasomtersmig.sokuhou.wiki/d/Malvina%2015yo%20Moldavia%2c
%20c%20%2824%29%20%40iMGSRC%2eRU
Reply maringa
3:33 PM on February 15, 2022 
maringa 7b17bfd26b https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgMCQqKOlCAwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAkNPC0QoMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDAwLnHxAkMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgID_5IzZCwwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAwLWI4wsMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDAsKX-mwkMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgICfm_X-CQwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgICAv4PNuAoMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDA4LCZqQsMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgMDAjrLuCAwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAoPjH2gkMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgICA_7ffjAoMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgMCA4pzKCwwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAgOK1uwoMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDAoJiGvAsMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgID_5sjQCwwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgICAv8HRmwgMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDA0KC_lggMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgICf69ebCQwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAwMfrxAgMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDA4M-BuggMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgICfpNrkCAwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgICAv6PMhgsMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDAgLPmugkMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgMCgk6ONCAwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAkMmKhQkMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgIDAoMjVsAgMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
https://www.cloudschool.org/activities/ahFzfmNsb3Vkc2Nob29sLWFwcH
I5CxIEVXNlchiAgIC_wc2iCQwLEgZDb3Vyc2UYgIDAwI6umAsMCxIIQWN0aXZpdHk
YgICA__eSxgkMogEQNTcyODg4NTg4Mjc0ODkyOA
http://dichvuphotoshop.com/en/thiet-ke-do-hoa-hoc-gi/comment-page
-1/

Categories


/
Lightbox image