Ob Fo wasn't the only one troubled by New York Times writer Amanda Hesser's op ed about the First Lady and cooking. Among the myriad problems with the Hesser piece, it was more than a little annoying that Hesser was chiding the First Lady for publicly "admitting" she didn't cook all the time. Ob Fo wrote:Of course cooking wasn't Mrs. Obama's "huge thing;" she had two small children and a series of high-profile jobs. She was so busy balancing jobs and kids....Mrs. Obama was just like every working mother who's left with the brunt of domestic duties.
This is the piece of Hesser's diatribe that the blogosphere is buzzin' about the most: The idea that because she's female, Michelle Obama needs to never be honest about the fact that children, husband, and job sometimes makes it imposible for a woman to cook. Hesser's suggestion that the First Lady lead a cooking campaign are being met with everything from disbelief to scorn--as well as an outcry that for Pete's sake, give Michelle Obama a break. A sam(Kass)pler platter:
From Regina Schrambling at Gastropoda: Now the divine Mrs. M is supposed to strap on an apron and save the world by cooking. No matter that she sends a more powerful message by dishing up healthful, affordable food at a soup kitchen...or just by not apologizing for hiring cooks to keep her family fed in Chicago because she had more rewarding things to do. It’s been a long, hard fight to get this country to understand a woman’s place is not always in the kitchen. The last thing we need is to have the President’s wife out “yummo-ing” on the talk shows...
Josh Friedland at The Food Section: I wonder why so much responsibility is being laid at the feet of Michelle Obama? As a dude who cooks, I find it a little sexist to place the responsibility of promoting cooking solely at the feet of the First Lady. Would anyone even think twice if the President had uttered his wife's words? Last week's image of Barack strolling across the White House lawn with paper bags full of take-out burgers was pretty much celebrated by the press and public. I hesitate to think of the criticism Michelle would have come under were it she who was carrying home takeout.Sarah DiGregorio in The Village Voice: Patronizing, anybody? ...to suggest that the First Lady...should love to cook, and that she somehow does Americans a disservice by saying that she doesn't love to cook is appallingly retro...Mrs. Obama did working women everywhere a service by admitting that after a long day running a hospital, she didn't relish coming home to roast a chicken. Newsflash: it's no longer obligatory that wives and mothers must take responsibility for cooking meals, rather than a husband or partner, or someone hired for that purpose.
Sadie at Jezebel: It would be disingenuous to pretend that her life, or cooking opportunities, are like that of the average American...to Michelle Obama it's probably not incidental to distance herself from generations of recipe-swapping First Ladies who aligned themselves firmly with the domestic. And because Mrs. Obama does not cook much these days does not imply unilateral scorn [for cooking]...a lot of people can relate to a First Lady who....doesn't cook.
And from Eat me daily: Food is on television. A lot....There are dozens of magazines and countless cookbooks that promote cooking and gardening. Why does this information need to come from Michelle Obama?
*Photos by Pete Souza, official White House non-food photographer
