The Things Men Touched

Chapter 6 focuses on three dimensions of men’s doings in the home: permissible things, or the objects, bodies, and tasks men touch in domestic space; permissible languages, used by men and women in conjugal interactions; and permissible moods, sometimes suppressed, sometimes openly expressed. Not simply permissible, but possibly required in the given patriarchal order. The chapter begins with a rough-and-ready listing of the things, objects, and ideas men touched in their daily routines in the domestic arena. It goes on to explore what they touched and did not touch, through the evidence of language, or forms of address, employed by husbands and wives in everyday interaction, and examines men’s behavior or comportment in domestic space, as reflected in male restlessness and impatience. It cites specific examples from all the different social groups discussed in preceding chapters to demonstrate the widespread acceptance of men’s sense of privilege and entitlement.