General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Who remembers life for women before RBG? [View all]wnylib
(21,346 posts)I hated home ec for the same reasons as you. I watched in the kitchen as a child. By age 10, I was baking cakes from mixes with my friends and later from scratch, along with some simple dinner dishes like goulash, and cookies, and coffee cakes. I had free reign to make what I wanted, as long as I cleaned up after myself and did not use up something my mother wanted for a specific dish or occasion. Our kitchen was cheerful, comfy, and fun. The school kitchen was like a commercial one, sterile looking. The lessons were boring beginner stuff.
I liked clothes, but had no interest in making them since I earned a lot of babysitting money to pay for fads that my parents refused to buy. I could sew buttons, do hems (plenty of practice since I'm short), and do darts and tucks.
I got more interested in the drafting classes that the boys took. I liked geometry and maps and it looked similar. The drafting teacher was ok with it, but said it would have to be approved by the counselor or principle for a GIRL to take drafting. They were ok with it (I babysat for the counselor's kids), but a couple male teachers objected that it would set a bad precedent and before you knew it, there would be boys in home ec and girls in woodworking. One of them told my parents that I needed counseling to accept being a girl.
My father called BS so I didn't have to go to counselibg, but also was not allowed to take drafting.