A secret crisis is brewing in Australia: Gen Y women are losing the traditional "female" skills such as cooking, ironing, and sewing:
Only 51 per cent of women aged under 30 can cook a roast compared with 82 per cent of baby boomers.
Baking lamingtons* is a dying art with 20 per cent of Gen Y capable of whipping up the Aussie classic, down from 45 per cent for previous generations.Social researcher Mark McCrindle said: "Women of today tend to be busier, juggling more roles, and are quite prepared to compromise a bit of the homemade just to save some time.
"They also have a lot more disposable income compared with their mums and their grandmothers so buying a cake mix or lamingtons ready-made is not a big deal."
But the news ain't all bad: these Gen Y women are taking on new "manly" skills:
As well as working full or part-time, they are doing tasks previously done by men.
More than 70 per cent of women under 30 say they often take out the bins, 77 per cent mow the lawn and 70 per cent claim they wash the car.
http://www.news.com.au/national/generation-y-women-losing-female-skills-such-as-cooking-ironing-and-sewing/story-e6frfkvr-1225996810578 - via Fark
*Lamington is an Australian sponge cake
Why is it a good thing to be losing the ability to sew, or to iron shirts? I was single until I was in my late 20s so I learned how to sew, and iron, and cook, and vacuum, and do "manly" things like hammer nails, I guess, and chew on 2x4s and rub sandpaper across my bare buttocks.
As a 31 year old man, many of my peers (male and female) lack basic skills like ironing and sewing. These things aren't hard to do. Men AND women should know how to do them.
/ducks
But there is a non-sexist point here. Society has been putting down the traditional female roles for so long, that we're forgetting how to fend for ourselves. We become reliant on pre-packaged, processed, less healthy foods because it's easier and quicker.
And it can't be blamed on full-time jobs, because everybody can learn these skills while still young. Nobody's teaching them.