LET HER COOK. @ellieanderphd ’s article on emotional labor vs hermeneutic labor might be one of my favorite things i’ve read in a really long time. philarchive.org/rec/ANDHLT

in the article Ellie identifies hermeneutic labor as a distinctive form of emotional labor which occurs primarily in intimate relationships, while emotional labor can largely be found in the workplace

Men and women both take on significant amounts of emotional labor (defined as “the silent work of evoking or suppressing feeling” ) but women largely take on hermeneutic labor (interpreting, communicating, ruminating, and unpacking emotion) to maintain their relationships

women’s hermeneutic labor has social value that is invisible to those who benefit from it. women are placed in a the tough position of not only being expected and needed to do emotional work “naturally”, but are also vilified and dehumanized when we do (see; “she’s crazy” )

women aren’t naturally more “intuitive” or “emotionally aware”, we are intuitive because we are expected to be and need to be to survive. ellie says “so-called ‘women’s intuition’ is in fact a hard won achievement that takes years to produce and sustain.” 🔥

a standout section from the article to me was her analysis of the demand-withdraw pattern of many het relationships where men maintain patriarchal power by refusing to engage in emotional work, “his power to withdraw outweighs her power to demand”

and lastly her pointing out society’s misogynistic attitudes towards Care and Love, whereby “love is seen at once as frivolous and essential for human flourishing” and “romantic love is taken to be irrational and, thus beyond comprehension or analysis.” yo …