Why Feminine Technologies Matter - part [whatever letter we are up to - f?]

I had much more to agree with in this section. First the author went through the history of our home storage habits as they changed through time. Short version - only rich people had 'stuff' that needed to be stored; then more people had 'stuff' so specialized storage came about; then people without servants had 'stuff' so storage moved around a bit so stuff was stored near where it was used and in closed off spaces instead of in the open. (Here's where it gets... iffy.) Women as housewives learned an efficient "filing system" for the family 'stuff' and so when businesses started needing to file papers women were pre-trained by life in general and thus the work could be called unskilled work and women could be paid very little to take on this professional role.

Honestly, I buy the "women were pre-trained by their roles in the household" argument a bit more when it came to sewing and other clothing-related jobs because I can see the direct comparison. I find it hard to make too strong of a connection between "filing" dishes in cupboards and towels and sheets in linen closets and filing papers in an office environment. The concepts are related, but not super strongly. In any case, the section ends with a charge that it is the invisible nature of women's mastery of the household filing system that makes it so difficult for the domestic duties to be split more equitably between spouses even today. I find that hard to relate to as well since my mother was no more likely to know where a certain item was in our house than my father was and I never really heard the whole "honey where is the [insert household item]" as a big part of my growing up years.

It might be interesting to look at this further as stuff has proliferated and overwhelmed us and some storage has moved out of the family's residence (sheds, rented storage spaces) and as in house storage has become so decorative and commercialized. The mere existence of something like The Container Store and the success of entertainment in the form of Clean Sweep, etc. says something further about our relationship with our 'stuff.' Of course, I find this interesting apart from any conclusions we might want to draw about gender although I am sure that would be a small part of it.