Battle of the Sexes: Can men make it in the kitchen?

Two pieces by Tim Chapman, senior writer & Sarah Teach, contributing writer
Posted on October 29, 2007

Emeril Lagasse, Tyler Florence, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Gordon Ramsay, Ratatouille—need I name more? Of course men can get the job done in the kitchen, the top chefs in the world tend to be of our superior sex.

But I think the question should be: Why would a man need to be proficient in the kitchen? For ages the patriarchal figure of the household has literally and figuratively been the “hunter” or “provider.” The matriarchal figure has been the “preparer” of the hunt and has done so sufficiently through the centuries.

Although times have changed and more women in are in the work force, the male in many instances is still the primary provider. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this system, as the human race has thrived for an estimated 130,000 years with the woman primarily being in the house.

I’m not proposing that women should forget all the strides they have made and return to any sort of indentured service, where they only do the laundry and cook the food, but one has to believe that some things in history don’t change for a reason.

There is also plenty of reason to believe that women can succeed in the work place and in the kitchen on a daily basis. And I’m not just talking about Rachael Ray, Paula Dean, Giada De Laurentiis, and Julia Child. If a man can be questioned about preparing the morning and evening meals while he works a 9-to-5, then why can’t women work and continue performing what has been a role honed by their mothers and grandmothers?

It seems like there is reluctance today among educated women to embrace these skills and abilities that they can proudly identify with. Just because it has taken years to level out the playing field of the two genders shouldn’t mean that women should forget what they’re good at. I don’t see any rush from men to distance themselves from being the primary divider or being the bold and the brawn character protector of the house.

So I guess we should call for more rounded males and females in society, but do so without forgetting that the woman has been holding down the stove for centuries, and she does a pretty solid job. 

Tim Chapman is a sophomore SMAD major.

 

I confess the following to be my first thought when presented with this question: billowing black smoke rising from the charred remains of what was once presumably a fine cut of pork—or perhaps a fine house—being fired at with hoses. Perchance I hold this perspective because I grew up with a father who knew how to cook only one thing, which, for the record, is a predictable unpalatable pancake.

I also credit this viewpoint to the many years that the media and society have poked fun at the presumably incompetent skills of men in the kitchen. The largely chauvinistic “cookin’-ain’t-no-man’s-work” view of the 1950s is not far from our 21st century society.

However, I am delighted to disclose that since transferring to JMU, my standpoint on men in the kitchen has developed into something drastically different. My otherwise-talented, gorgeous, female roommate cannot cook worth a lick. Yet I find myself looking forward to those nights when her boyfriend proudly does the cooking in our home. Let me tell you, this “man’s man” sure knows how to whip up some fine fixings! Not only am I certain of his beastly ability to beat down a mobster within milliseconds (with or without a meat mallet), but I also fully trust him with an oven, a frying pan and the entire contents of my kitchen.

Ironically, nearly every girl that I have encountered at JMU has denied any and all potential kitchen capabilities from men. Though I actually have yet to receive an invite for a home-cooked dinner from a JMU female, it seems as though most of my guy friends always seem to be trying some new recipe or technique.

Allow me to applaud you, you gang of guy grocery gurus! And to you non-cooking men (who I think are in the minority here), I will have you know one slice of precious advice that your cooking counterparts have very likely already scooped up. The ability and  willingness to throw some chow around the kitchen has sky-high success rates for wooing chicks. Renounce those 1950s ideals—the kitchen is no longer such a strange and scary space for men after all!

Sarah Teach is a sophomore dietetics major.