Hippie Read: Radical Homemakers

Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture by Shannon Hayes "Mother Nature has shown her hand. Faced with climate change, dwindling resources, and species extinction, most Americans understand the fundamental steps necessary to solve our global crises: reduce driving; consume less; increase our self-reliance; buy locally, eat locally, rebuild our local communities. In essence, the great work we face requires re-kindling the home fires. Radical Homemakers is about men and women across the U.S. who focus on home and hearth as a political and ecological act; who center their lives around family and community for personal fulfillment and cultural change. It explores what domesticity looks like in an era that has benefitted from feminism; where the choice to stay home is no longer equated with mind-numbing drudgery, economic insecurity, or relentless servitude. Radical Homemakers nation-wide speak about empowerment, transformation, happiness, and casting aside the pressures of a consumer culture to live in a world where money loses its power to relationships, independent thought, and creativity. If you ever considered quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child, pursue creative work, can green beans, and heal the planet, this is your book." This book is definitely an interesting read. It looks at how the role of a Homemaker has gone from a lucrative, skilled profession to one that is not even considered a legitimate career option. At one point, a homemaker was required to know how to manage and maintain a household. She (or he) knew how to be completely self-reliant and self-sufficient. But today, thanks to modern conveniences, the role of a homemaker is defined by consumerism. A homemaker is no longer required to grow food in a garden, make foods from scratch, or sew clothing. A typical day in the life of a homemaker now revolves around shopping and driving kids around. And as the homemaker's role has evolved from specialist to shopper, it has become more and more mundane, and women feel oppressed by being forced to remain in such a situation. And so, many women in today's society choose to work, which places families on vicious earning/ spending/ working cycles. Families have become forced into double-income lifestyles. By having both adults working, families must pay others to complete tasks that they could easily do themselves if they had the time: childcare, cleaning the house, lawn care, etc. They work more hours to make more money to pay for more conveniences to allow them to have more time to work. This book focuses on Homemakers across the country who refuse to fall into this vicious cycle. They opt to live with less in order to truly enjoy the important things in life. This book is definitely worth the read. Check it out at the library. Or, if you know me personally, you are welcome to borrow my copy. "For national and social disasters, for moral and financial evils, the cure begins in the Household." - Julia M. Wright, The Complete Home, 1879

Hippie Documentary: King Corn

I dropped the ball again. Despite the number of documentaries I've been watching, I can't quite keep up with a weekly review. So, no more timelines. This time around- King Corn. This film follows two recent college graduates and their attempt to rent an acre of farmland in Iowa in order to grow corn and determine exactly where the corn goes and what it is used for. The film examines how we as a society are dependent on corn. From the corn that is fed to cattle that becomes the beef we eat to high fructose corn syrup that is in practically everything in the grocery store, we consume corn at an alarming rate. This documentary is definitely worth watching. I learned a lot about farm subsidies, the insdustrialization of farming, history of corn, and just how dependent we are on this one crop. View the trailer here. "We aren't growing quality, we're growing crap."

Planned obsolescence and kids' stuff... aka how I refuse to be a sucker

Assuming you took the 20 minutes and watched the 'Story of Stuff' video I posted about a few weeks ago, you already know what the term 'planned obsolescence' means (you did watch it didn't you? No? Ok, we'll wait....). Alright, alright, for those of you who are too busy to spare 20 minutes to watch, I'll sum it up for you- planned obsolescence is a tactic used by manufacturers to design a product so it will have a limited useful life. The goal is to get us, as the consumer, to purchase a product that will last as short of a time as possible so that we will have to go buy that same product again, thus spending more money than if we were to simply purchase something once and (God forbid) have it last. Until I saw that video, I never really realized how prevalent that concept is. And how does this tactic relate to kids' stuff? If you have ever tried to purchase something that is gender neutral, you know that it is next to impossible. And it's not just clothing. It seems that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find anything that is gender neutral. Thinking back to my childhood, it seems that I had far more items that could be considered gender neutral than what is offered today. I don't remember everything I owned being either pink or purple. But today, everything from tricycles to underwear to blankets to baby gear can be chosen in a cutesy pink version. The problem I have with the cutesy pink version (and, yes, we do have plenty of cutesy pink in this house) is that the item then becomes practically obsolete the moment you have a boy (that is, unless you are crazy, like me) and you are forced to purchase that same item in a boy-friendly color. Without even thinking about it, you were just forced to purchase something twice, use the resources needed to produce the item twice, and ultimately, add twice as much to a landfill. Don't get me wrong, I am not planning to dress my daughter in all blue, or to dress my son in pink, but I do plan to stop and think everytime I am tempted to buy a pink tricycle, "Will my son want to use that?" The majority of the kid stuff I have purchased, from bouncy seats to highchairs to strollers is gender neutral. Also, I am fortunate to have a daughter who loves dinosaurs and puppies, so we have opted to purchase boy pajamas for her, and will also use them when my son grows into them. Perhaps one day there will be a company that does not intentionally take advantage of the consumer in order to make more money and instead prioritizes the quality of the product they sell. Until then, we'll buy as much green and yellow stuff as we can find, and what we can't reuse we will find someone who can.