I'm researching the recent return of women and men to hobbies like baking and sewing for a drama presentation. My angle is going to be a discussion of the appropriate response for feminists; it's clearly a subject that raises interesting and contradictory associations for the feminist movement. The module is called 'Performing Memory', and we could pick anything we liked to talk about, as long as it was to do with memory. I picked this because the physical act of baking or knitting recalls acts performed by women of earlier times, and so is a performance of memory. But it is also an act of forgetting, since women today might not necessarily be aware of the reasons second wave feminists condemned such activities as part of the 'feminine mystique'.

I've got a few questions that it'd be great if people could answer, they're not for a formal survey I'm going to present to a class or anything. It's possible I might think it'd be really helpful to quote someone in my presentation, if so I'll let the person know to check it's ok. If anyone lives around Nottingham/Derby and wanted to meet up to talk about this I'd love to, just send a pm my way.

What I would like to know, for knitting, baking (add other traditionally 'female' hobbies if you wish but I thought these were the ones with the most obvious resurgence in recent years) is:

How long have you been doing it for?
Who taught you?
Do you do it alone, or in a group?
Do you, in your hobby, see yourself as any part of movement, or are you influenced in doing it by other beliefs? (For instance, beliefs about 'make do and mend'; the 1950s housewife mentality updated for the environmentally-conscious generation. I'm not seeking any kind of specific response to these questions btw. I don't have a theory axe to grind, though I will be framing my presentation in terms of general theories about performance.)
How do you see yourself and your hobby in the context of female history? Were you influenced by your gender in choosing your hobby?

Some of them are quite broad; feel free to answer whichever you like, whichever spark an interest, or to chat about something not on my list of suggestions.

How long have you been doing it for?
I'm not really sure, ever since I can remember I've been sewing. When I was small I used to make my own Barbie clothes.
Who taught you?
My mom and my grandma.
Do you do it alone, or in a group?
On my own. Sometimes I'll bring something I'm sewing over to a friend's place to work on it, but they never sew too.
Do you, in your hobby, see yourself as any part of movement, or are you influenced in doing it by other beliefs? (For instance, beliefs about 'make do and mend'; the 1950s housewife mentality updated for the environmentally-conscious generation. I'm not seeking any kind of specific response to these questions btw. I don't have a theory axe to grind, though I will be framing my presentation in terms of general theories about performance.)
I don't see myself as part of a movement at all. I sew things that need to be fixed, and because I find it relaxing. It's also pretty rewarding to see the finished product
How do you see yourself and your hobby in the context of female history? Were you influenced by your gender in choosing your hobby?
Gender roles don't really influence me to do a whole lot. I like to work with wood and things that are more "manly" as well. I just do what I enjoy.

I'm not sure my answers help you all that much haha, but I answered them I can't turn this bold off now, what the hell...

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Come on now and wrap them around me

interesting. i took a marriage and family course in college and we learned all about male/female roles in the home. i loved the class. sociology rulez.

How long have you been doing it for? i've been cooking on my own for pleasure since i was about 16 (20 now). i've just taken up knitting.

Who taught you? cooking=self taught. my friend bryan (note -a man! a heterosexual man!) taught me how to knit

Do you do it alone, or in a group? i generally cook alone, or with my partner. i knit with a stitch n bitch society at my university, we meet up every week.

Do you, in your hobby, see yourself as any part of movement, or are you influenced in doing it by other beliefs? i wouldn't say any beliefs prompt me to do this. i like to be self-sufficient and independent, i like cooking because it means i'm not reliant on other people cooking for me (such as my mam) and i can make stuff from scratch, i dont have to buy expensive take-outs/dull microwave meals.
i enjoy knitting because i like the sense of satisfaction out of simply making something with my own hands. its a pretty mindless activity and sometimes i like that after a stressful day.
i would not see myself doing this as a result of any kind of movement at all.

How do you see yourself and your hobby in the context of female history? Were you influenced by your gender in choosing your hobby?
absolutely not. i don't think my hobbies have anything to do with gender. interestingly, at my uni knitting group, we have a pretty equal share of male and female members, and i love that mix.
the activities of baking and sewing have a completely different meaning to me than they would have done for the majority of women in the past. i don't do them because thats my job according to my gender, i'm not doing it because its (supposedly) what women are designed to do. i do them for pleasure, for myself, and i'm thankful that i can do so.

wow sorry, that turned into a bit of a mini essay! your project sounds really ace though. i often have twinges of guilt when i take part in traditionally 'female' activities like this, i can hear second wave fems tut tut tutting in my head. but i really don't care, because these activities have different connotations for me as a young woman in the 21st century. could you even say these activities have been 'reclaimed' by the feminists of the third wave?

sorry, going off on one again! i'd love to see the finished product of your presentation though

How long have you been doing it for?
about three years now? i think.
Who taught you?
the internet. it was just before knittinghelp put up the videos. i found this site that showed by picture each step and i worked diligently at learning the craft.
Do you do it alone, or in a group?
alone. like i learned it. i tried a group but am not really that type of person.
Do you in your hobby, see yourself as any part of movement, or are you influenced in doing it by other beliefs? (For instance, beliefs about 'make do and mend'; the 1950s housewife mentality updated for the environmentally-conscious generation. I'm not seeking any kind of specific response to these questions btw. I don't have a theory axe to grind, though I will be framing my presentation in terms of general theories about performance.)
ill tell you why i wanted to do it. my best friend sent me a scarf she had made. i was enchanted and jealous that she could take yarn and make something so amazing. it was a simple garter stitch scarf, but i wanted to be able to figure out how she did it. to take color and texture and recontextualize it into an object of use really really appealed to me.
How do you see yourself and your hobby in the context of female history? Were you influenced by your gender in choosing your hobby?

i see myself performing art. ive always wanted to be an artist.

in the context of female history i see it as taking back whats my right to take. second wavers needed to be strident. that time is over. we can knit when we want and suck cock or not suck cock. we can dress like a man or use a strap on, we can bake cupcakes, and stay at home with the kids, we can do performance art smearing chocolate easter eggs on our bodies and call it shit, we can play soccer, and vote and get arrested for husband beating and pay alimony and lose custody of our children to our husbands if they are the primary parent. we can put the toilet seat down and not complain that men are uncooth. we can have the door held open for us and not complain that men are backwards sexist jerks for it. and we can knit. with rights come responsibilities and if im responsible for my own destiny, im damn well going to do what i actually like, instead of what gloria steinem thinks i should like.

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