Is washing day sexist?

I think your critic was taking things a little too far now that 'washing day' actually means bundling some fabric into a programmed machine and pushing a button!

When my appreciative family say, 'Oh, thanks for washing my ... whatever...' I say, 'Well, I didn't have to take it down to the river and beat it on the rocks, you know.'

It reminds me of the labour of the old days. My dad bought my mother the first electic copper in our street to boil her washing in. What luxury! And I vividly remember her putting sheets thorough the mangle which was a heavy job for a small woman.

In 1979 we were given a twintub for a wedding present by my MIL who thought it was absolute heaven compared with what she had to use when she was young and first married. (Nappies on a line.) However, we still had to stand over the machine and bundle the wet clothes from one tub to another.

A couple of years later we were 'fully automatic' and then added a tumble dryer.

Washing is a pleasure now.

Sexist....hmmmmmmmmmm what a load of rubbish a day does not have a gender.

I am fed up with all this let's be offended stuff, I am offended when I can't use the men's toilets and there is no queue, and they have banned whistling on building sites........what fun that used to be, I would walk down the street and be pleased with the whistles. No body asked me if I wanted it stopped.

And poor Jenni Murray being told off for having an opinion, women are only allowed opinions when we have been told what they are. We are just ridicuous now. Pocohontas was disapproved of as a fancy dress by Uni students on TV last week, all busy being offended on behalf of other people.

Where will it all end??

Grannygalactica
Just ignore the must say it right nit picking individuals.

My washing is on now, so technically its a washing day, but I may wash tomorrow, who knows, there isnt any particular day which is called washing day these days is there?

Every flipping day is wash day in this house!

I'm with luckygirl, often tempted to say the wrong thing in that situation. I'd blame the gremlin on my shoulder as I press send or Post!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=ceS_jkKjIgo

Says it all really.

My brother was a dreadful sleeper as a baby and my mother who was in her 40's when he was born was obviously exhausted. I can remember my dad washing nappies in the single tub washer before he went to work to give her a rest before she took my sister and I to school. I did once tell my MIL about this and she commented that she didn't think FIL would have had any idea even how to turn the machine on.

GrannyGalactica,'washing day' to me is ANY day that has a glimpse is sunshine and lots of wind. Much of the latter recently but a scarcity of the former. However, it's all strarting to happen now and I even have one of my first thick woollen blankets on the line right now (with a VERY watchful eye to the weather!). Sexist; pexist. Who cares? Just keeping trying to ignore the idiots. They're a constant pain.

Love the you tube video! I remember my grandmother doing the washing in a "copper" with a mysterious substance called "blue" which was supposed to get the linens extra white.

Surely washing day is any day you do the washing whether it is once a week or everyday.

Well, I may do some more tomorrow or even on Thursday - is Thursday sexist because it's Thor's Day and he was a man?

sorry, a god!

Stop the world, i need to get off

Political correctness has become a tyranny ?

Not sure how a day can be sexist, i agree that some people just like to be offended. They need to get out more if they are offended by the term washing day. Didn't know that about Thursday Jalima, interesting information, thank you. Have a good evening everyone.

This thread has really irritated me - the comment reported in the op was clearly utter rubbish, made by someone who hasn't got the first idea as to what sexist and sexism is all about. Then some posters pile in about political correctness - the comment about washing day was nothing at all to do with so-called PC and it's a pity that some posters just used it as an excuse to have another ill-informed go at PC - and FWIW I think it's a damn good thing that wolf whistling is not deemed acceptable any more - how very sad that any female feels any sort of appreciation or validation of themselves as the recipient of such coarse, ill mannered loutish behaviour

Well, back in the day...

Washing is a pleasure now.
Well, pleasure may be stretching it a bit far Lilyflower
But it is certainly not such a huge chore as it was in days gone by

Changing the bed linen is still the same though - wish we had a machine to do that! (And in fact it's probably harder these days what with duvet covers, especially if there's only one of you...)

and it has to be hung on the line (weather permitting), folded or ironed, put away, beds changed as Ana mentions

Choreday whoever does it

This document is quite interesting on sexist language. On the whole we look for pronouns that are neutral.
www2.fiu.edu/~brownj/COM3110_Supplemental_Grammar_Material/Word_Choice.pdf

As for washing day; sadly washing is associated with female work - like washing up, washing clothes in the river etc. Whereas drying is not associated with either male or female. However hopefully washing machines are associated with both sexes.

From time to time in family history class we may talk about the'black sheep' in the family. This too would not be allowed by purists.

In disability people try hard to describe the person as a person not his or her diagnosis. That is obviously the most positive way of being respectful.

However though it is a good idea to think about our language, getting too hung up on what ever is the 'politically correct' language would mean we would never write anything or open our mouths.

I cannot be doing with all this PC rubbish! Surely whoever wrote that about 'drying the washing' should have realised that you were trying to lighten the mood?

People these days are too picky about the things people say. Hasten to add I do not think people should make racist remarks though as that is hurtful. I will not be shackled by these PC people, who are they and why do they think they have the right to tell people what they can or cannot say? Just ignore them I say.

We have men to thank for people believing it is the woman's role to be looking after children, their husbands and the home (or is that in the wrong order?) and it is the man's role to bring in the bacon, as they say.

Times change, roles change, and I must say I admire these modern men the way they share everything with the wives, and the women who balance a job the home and the children.