I’ve wondered whether to write this post or not. I don’t want to alienate my male readers by any stretch of the imagination. I want to encourage them in their embroidery pursuits. However, I hope that this post might be helpful and\/or thought-provoking for women embroiderers.<\/p>\n
Today is International Women\u2019s Day (or it will be soon, if it isn\u2019t already, where you are). You\u2019ve probably seen posts on social media and articles in the press about it (and if you haven\u2019t yet, you probably will soon!). <\/p>\n
International Women\u2019s Day makes me think about embroidery. Partly because I\u2019m pretty much always thinking about embroidery, but partly because embroidery is so often associated with women.<\/p>\n
In contemporary life in most of the cultures that we belong to, women and girls are the ones doing embroidery. Of course, boys and men can do embroidery too. Some of them do, and some of them are very good at it.<\/p>\n
However, I do wonder why it is that when men do good embroidery or teach embroidery, so often women fawn over them so much. Why do we do that? <\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s because we want to encourage them in a pursuit that is so often seen as being outside of the realms of what men do. We know how valuable it is to us, and we want others to experience that value too. It certainly isn\u2019t a bad thing if men can also experience some of the things that are culturally regarded as feminine.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s just because they\u2019re quite unusual in an environment that is usually so heavily populated with women. They can be a bit of a novelty, after all.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is because somehow we feel that if men do embroidery, it legitimises embroidery as a pastime for us women. You probably recoiled a bit at that. But is it even a little bit true? Maybe? Personally, I don\u2019t need a man to do embroidery for me to know that it is a worthwhile and enjoyable thing to do.<\/p>\n
Have you noticed this adulation of male teachers and embroiderers, or is it just me? Am I way off beam? (You can tell me I’m wrong if you wish!) If you have noticed it, why do you think it happens?<\/p>\n