Being Barefoot

Despite how unseasonably warm it has been lately (global warming is just God huggin' us closer!), it was chilly this morning. Our new(ish) apartment has hardwood floors (original to the early 1800s) and is a bit drafty. We already pay insanely high electric bills, so I've been reluctant to turn on the heat (the landlord pays the water, so I've been taking long showers to warm up.) Hardwood floors are warmer than the tile floors that grace Mark's parent's house (brrrr!), and are nicer looking than the linoleum at my parent's house (which they just replaced, so now they look like classy people that have lineoleum). They also seem to have a unique way of collecting dust and sticking it to your feet. So I have not been barefoot in a very long time. I pretty much always wear socks or slippers when I am in the apartment. (Somehow though, my toes are always still freezing when I get into bed.) This has me thinking about the title of the blog.
I think the origin of the phrase "barefoot and in the kitchen" suggests that wanting women to be barefoot deprives them of their autonomy or ability to go someplace. You can't be barefoot and take over the world. At least not in the U.S. You can't even be a professional chef while being barefoot (see Mario Batelli and his massive orange crocs). For these reasons, wearing slippers is probably akin to being barefoot. Wearing crocs is just professional.
I chose the title to poke fun at myself and my very feminist unsense of humor. But it is also to challenge our ideas of what is feminist and what is feminine, what is women's work, and where do women belong in today's society. I really think that we are moving towards a society in which the phrase "barefoot and in the kitchen" is a thing of the past, because more so than any other domestic role, men and women are sharing the load of cooking more than they ever were. That is a good thing. In honor of this concept, Mark is making lentil tacos tonight. (Yes. I'm giving lentils another shot.) Maybe as a sign of our growing societal equality (we just elected a black man president - if getting the right to vote is any indication, a female president is only 60 years away!), I will let him post his recipe.