This is an accusation made by an interviewee in the new French documentary about the nappy debate – Couchorama. What she says is that if we return to washable nappies the work of washing will fall on women.
It’s true that when you have children your laundry pile grows. And It continues to grow as they get bigger. It isn’t just the clothes – in all different fabrics that require different wash cycles, it’s also the sheets, the duvet covers and the towels that are used once and then left on the floor. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but children are a lot of work and don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.
The solution: either don’t have kids or get your partner to load and unload the washing machine. It’s not disposable nappies that have liberated women, it’s the washing machine and also the defeminisation of household chores and childcare. Men can do that work just as well as women, if they are shown how to do it eg separate loads for lights and darks, rinse wool at same temperature as you wash it. It’s really not that hard.
So no, I don’t accept that women who love fluff are turning the clock back and condemning new mums to a life of drudgery. We are the truly modern mothers who believe in working towards both equality and low impact households.
Want to see the film? To find out about next screening visit the RNfL events diary.
