--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Housework is the only activity at which…" description: "\"Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.\" — Let..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png" --- # Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to… ![“Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.” quote by Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png) > “Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.” [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often expects men to be competent, allowing them to be inept at housework without criticism. **In simple terms:** Men are excused from household chores due to perceived competence elsewhere. Key Takeaway Encourage shared domestic responsibilities. Themes gender household expectations competence stereotype inequality Mood reflective motivational Type dialogue educational When to use this quote - family life - partner negotiations - parenting - home management Key Concepts social norms gender roles domestic labor Questions to Reflect On - How can households distribute chores more evenly? - What cultural changes challenge these expectations? A Different Perspective Assuming competence elsewhere can mask neglect of chores. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Competent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competent/) [Consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consistently/) [Consistently Inept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consistently-inept-5368825/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Housework](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housework/) [Housework Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housework-activity-5368827/) [Inept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inept/) [Inept Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inept-thought-5368826/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Like plowing, housework makes the ground ready for the germination of family life. The kids will not invite a teacher home if beer cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/like-plowing-housework-makes-the-ground-ready-for-the-germination-of/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [“Our life was an inept play with some disproportionately good acting in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gerhardie/our-life-was-an-inept-play-with-some-disproportionately-good-acting/) [William Gerhardie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gerhardie/) > [For the first few months, I was a comically inept parent. The first night home from the hospital, I held her bare body against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/for-the-first-few-months-i-was-a-comically-inept-parent-the-first/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [Parisians are so besotted, so silly and so naturally inept that a street player, a seller of indulgences, a mule with its cymbals,a fiddler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/parisians-are-so-besotted-so-silly-and-so-naturally-inept-that-a/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A surprising number of American skyjackers were not yet old enough to drink or sometimes even drive. These adolescents were generally inept at planning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-i-koerner/a-surprising-number-of-american-skyjackers-were-not-yet-old-enough-to/) [Brendan I. Koerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-i-koerner/) > [Many are saved from sin by being so inept at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/many-are-saved-from-sin-by-being-so-inept-at-it/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [I'm very disappointed with the McCain campaign. In my opinion, it was inept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-broun/i-m-very-disappointed-with-the-mccain-campaign-in-my-opinion-it-was/) [Paul Broun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-broun/) > [I'm inept at knowing the lives of the people behind the things I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/i-m-inept-at-knowing-the-lives-of-the-people-behind-the-things-i-love/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [“Of all the many things I know, which is nearly everything, one thing I don’t know is what it feels like to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandt-legg/of-all-the-many-things-i-know-which-is-nearly-everything-one-thing-i/) [Brandt Legg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandt-legg/) > [“He could do nothing but twist his moustache, drink, and chatter the most inept nonsense that can possibly be imagined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-could-do-nothing-but-twist-his-moustache-drink-and-chatter-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The inept are gifted at overlooking the extent of their incompetence. They suffer from illusory superiority, which leads them to make even more thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/the-inept-are-gifted-at-overlooking-the-extent-of-their-incompetence/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Most haven’t a clue as to how socially inept their own actions are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-echols/most-haven-t-a-clue-as-to-how-socially-inept-their-own-actions-are/) [Damien Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-echols/) > [I just don't think our best are in politics. I think these guys are inept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-layfield/i-just-don-t-think-our-best-are-in-politics-i-think-these-guys-are/) [John Layfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-layfield/) > [“He’d never felt more inept. Now he truly understood what it meant to rely solely on Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-pettrey/he-d-never-felt-more-inept-now-he-truly-understood-what-it-meant-to/) [Dani Pettrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-pettrey/) > [“POKSI (Physically Okay but Socially Inept)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jody-gehrman/poksi-physically-okay-but-socially-inept/) [Jody Gehrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jody-gehrman/) ## More by Letty Cottin Pogrebin > [I find it profoundly symbolic that I am appearing before a committee of fifteen men who will report to a legislative body of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/i-find-it-profoundly-symbolic-that-i-am-appearing-before-a-committee/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Lifestyles and sex roles are passed from parents to children as inexorably as blue eyes or small feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/lifestyles-and-sex-roles-are-passed-from-parents-to-children-as/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Over the years, I've found that I either live life or write about it. I can't seem to do both simultaneously - I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/over-the-years-i-ve-found-that-i-either-live-life-or-write-about-it-i/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Compared to other parents, remarried parents seem more desirous of their child's approval, more alert to the child's emotional state, and more sensitive in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/compared-to-other-parents-remarried-parents-seem-more-desirous-of/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [No labourer in the world is expected to work for room, board, and love -except the housewife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/no-labourer-in-the-world-is-expected-to-work-for-room-board-and-love/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [I didn't anticipate the primal quality of my pleasure, the raw physicality of it, the way my whole body leaps forward when I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/i-didn-t-anticipate-the-primal-quality-of-my-pleasure-the-raw/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Lifestyles and sex roles are passed from parents to children as inexorably as blueeyes or small feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/lifestyles-and-sex-roles-are-passed-from-parents-to-children-as-2/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable - each segment distinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/if-the-family-were-a-fruit-it-would-be-an-orange-a-circle-of-sections/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [If the Richter scale could measure human calamities, the loss of a child would register a ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/if-the-richter-scale-could-measure-human-calamities-the-loss-of-a/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [In the supposedly enlightened eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, parental indifference, child neglect, and raw cruelty appearedamong Europeans of all classes… In mid-nineteenth- century France,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/in-the-supposedly-enlightened-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-centuries/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Friendships aren't perfect and yet they are very precious. For me, not expecting perfection all in one place was a great release.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/friendships-aren-t-perfect-and-yet-they-are-very-precious-for-me-not/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Although Freud said happiness is composed of love and work, reality often forces us to choose love or work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/although-freud-said-happiness-is-composed-of-love-and-work-reality/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Friends can be said to "fall in like" with as profound a thud as romantic partners fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/friends-can-be-said-to-fall-in-like-with-as-profound-a-thud-as/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [When men are oppressed, it's a tragedy. When women are oppressed, it's tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/when-men-are-oppressed-it-s-a-tragedy-when-women-are-oppressed-it-s/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [I used to anticipate my childhood birthday parties as if each were an annual coronation. Like most kids, I loved sitting at the head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/i-used-to-anticipate-my-childhood-birthday-parties-as-if-each-were-an/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) [Explore all 55 Letty Cottin Pogrebin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to be so competent at everything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Letty Cottin Pogrebin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which-men-are-allowed-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which-men-are-allowed-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25e/letty-cottin-pogrebin-12221_activity_housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which_1476159.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Housework is the only activity at which men are allowed to be consistently inept because they are thought to…” — Letty Cottin Pogrebin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Letty Cottin Pogrebin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Housework is the only activity at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which-men-are-allowed-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/housework-is-the-only-activity-at-which-men-are-allowed-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```