if you are feeling down and out, make a cake

This post is overdue from the holiday season, but still worthwhile (I hope).

‘Round about Christmas, I read an amazing piece about southern women constructing beautiful layer cakes for the holidays. I love this story. And I love that the New York Times gives it some coverage, although these kinds of stories are always buried in the style section. There is a part of me that wonders if stories like this one cement some idea of traditional womanhood in our minds, and drum up nostalgia for a time when girls were girls and boys were boys. But, mostly I think its really important to recognize and give props to traditionally “female” pursuits.

What do other people think about this? Do articles like this make you squirmy or do they make you feel proud of your foremothers for making an art out of their domestic trappings?