Spring has sprung so it’s time to get into the greenhouse! In this episode, Alex and Andrea investigate the differences between mother and caretaker, the privilege of home upkeep, and why yuppies love windchimes.
REQUIRED READING
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Dir. Curtis Hanson, 1992.
EXTRA CREDIT
The Unnatural History of the Nanny. The NYT’s 1973 exploration of the importance of the role in modern culture.
The Lifesaving, Horrifying History of Wet Nurses. A look at another key and intimate household role.
Querying ‘Karen’: The rise of the angry white woman. Before she was a haircut meme, she was a person.
Review: Third Wave Feminisms. Is “capitalist feminism” a thing?
Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers. Jude Doyle’s non-fiction treatise that examines the othering of female power.
LISTEN
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Another excellent episode! I must say, I enjoyed the episode far more than the film. To be fair, it really creeped me out which is what it is supposed to do but the topics were super uncomfortable for me. Just my own idiosyncratic response. I always appreciate the articles and books in the notes – especially the ones on feminist theory since I have the privilege of teaching that at University (for now at least – I’m in the Divided States of America). Thank you for the work on this – wish I could be in Salem – hopefully next year!!
PS: What was that song at the end of the episode? I loved it!
Darwinian theory would suggest that people tend to value children because those who didn’t lacked descendants.
The “Karen” meme providing a socially acceptable way to deride women as a group constituted much of its appeal.
Peyton is not a “Karen”: we never see her as a consumer. Nor does she ever call the police (rather, the police get called on her).