Cooking Doesn’t Make a Man Less Masculine

Back in the days down here in most African countries, it's generally believed that going into the kitchen and cooking isn't supposed to be a thing for men, but the duty of the women, and even though that sounds kind of weird to the ears that such is a thing, I can't help but understand that back then men were usually the sole providers of the home while women were usually full-time housewives, so it's understandable; however, in this present generation, where both parties work and contribute towards the growth of the family, I don't think such an ideology should be a thing, since women are now taking some of the roles men usually do, then it shouldn't be a big deal if a man cooks.

To start with, it's worth noting that this whole ideology of some responsibilities being for men and others being for women is not a laid-down rule written anywhere; it's just society's way of distributing responsibility between both genders or spouses so as to spread out the duties without draining one party over the other. Like I said, since most, back in the day, were the only ones going to work to make ends meet and then provide for the needs of their family, it's understandable that a woman who has been at home all day should have done most of the house chores, including cooking.

However, within our present world, that is no longer the case; everyone is working and has their individual ambitions, and since the economy of work is deteriorating, it's advisable that both parties work so as to help the family, even though the man is still usually believed to be the highest provider, so if the woman is helping out with one or two bills and going out to work, I don't see anything bad in the man going into the kitchen and cooking meals that he and his family will eat.

I don't see a big deal in whoever is going into the kitchen to cook between both genders. Take, for instance, when I was growing up, my parents didn't give birth to any female child, meaning we are all boys, and my mom made sure to teach each and every one of us how to cook. In fact, it got to a stage when we were grown up that Mom stopped going into the kitchen entirely and left that duty for us, and to make it comfortable, my siblings and I shared the cooking duty routine between ourselves for various days of the week, and I think that's the way to go; everyone needs to learn to cook and also cook.

Imagine a world without women; won't men cook? Of course we will, so personally I don't see it as a big deal, or will you because the society feels it's not your duty to cook, then let your wife that just gave birth or that's heavily pregnant indulge in cooking and other house chores because it's her responsibility? Of course not, you can't say you love someone and watch them do all that. Besides, before you got married, you did cook and eat yourself, so doing the same when you are married won't make you less of a man; it just shows you you're a human who is willing to cook when he's hungry and not want for Madam to come before he can eat.

So in a nutshell, I'm totally in for men going into the kitchen and helping out; each time I'm hungry and crave something, I usually step into the kitchen myself to prepare the meal. In fact, there are some particular meals that, regardless of who's cooking them, I hardly enjoy, like when I cook the same meal myself. Helping each other out is the way to go and one way to spice up the love and strength of the bond between you and your partner. Even if your meal isn't delicious, the gesture is what matters, and your partner can even decide to teach you how to do it better, which can further go on to increase the bond between you guys.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.