Miss Potkin is tired. Miss Potkin, this is the pseudo of this British thirty-something on the social network Twitter, a married woman, mother of three children, including a baby, and who manages the stewardship of her home. By default, a little in spite of herself, like thousands of other women. Last week, she decided to quit, not to endure her invisible labor any longer, but without telling the household, just like that, to see what it would be like, to conduct a little scientific experiment. An experience that she therefore told her 21 000 followers on Twitter, supporting photos.
Two days ago, I decided to stop doing the dishes. I make all the dinners and I am tired of having to do all the cleaning too. SINCE THEN this pile has appeared and at some point they are going to run out of spoons and cups and plates.
Who will blink first? Not me. pic.twitter.com/IZkOwP3a6B
– Miss Potkin (@MissPotkin) March 17, 2021
For example, you can see the sink and the worktop after two days without dishes: the breakfast bowls stacked on top of each other, the plates, cutlery, glasses, frying pans, cups, dishes … “At one point, she writes ironically, all these little people will end up running out of container to eat… So? Who will crack first? Surely not me! “
Because indeed, the temptation to take matters in hand is strong, but Miss Potkin holds up and describes the exponential disintegration, the transformation of her household in shambles. The old charred sausage left in a pot on the stove because it can’t be thrown away, because the trash can is full and no one takes it down. The piles of clothes that appear in the corners of the rooms, because the laundry basket is full and no one has thrown a machine. Not to mention, on the third day, the last roll of toilet paper, finished at 7:04 p.m., without having been replaced. Absence which obviously created a drama.
These four days were an experience to be heard, respected, no longer having to repeat ourselves (…) because of course, it is love that drives us to keep the house in order, it is love that makes do dishes, laundry, meals, but sometimes love is tired!
Miss Potkin, British mother
on his Twitter account
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And then, finally, on the fourth day, the gentleman puts the dirty bowls in the dishwasher. Without launching it, but it’s the intention that counts. The trash is taken down, the laundry picked up, the crumbs sucked up, toilet paper bought.
FUCKING HELL, IT’S HAPPENING! pic.twitter.com/z6wONAMTv6
– Miss Potkin (@MissPotkin) March 18, 2021
Suffice to say that many women, especially in these times of teleworking, recognized themselves in her logbook, as evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of likes she received. Because asking for help on a daily basis, repeatedly, is not enough. “These four days were an experience to be heard, she says, respected (…) of course, it is love that pushes us to keep the house in order, it is love that does dishes, laundry, meals, but sometimes love is tired! “ In other words, yes, even in 2021, there is still work.
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