The phenomenon is not new, what is more is the name it has been given: the mental burden of women. What is it about ? Julie Lancel lists this list of thoughts that permanently occupy the minds of women:
- what we eat tomorrow and the shopping list,
- the check to be deposited for registration at the children’s sports club, the
- the reservation for the holidays,
- call Mom back without fail before Saturday,
- call back the heating engineer,
- make an appointment with the dentist for the eldest,
- see with the brothers who is organizing the Christmas dinner this year …
To this copious list is added the list of professional and strictly personal files. It’s plentiful and eventually Julie Lancel notices a state of exhaustion.
What prompted women to take on all of this?
Manage everything, organize everything, plan everything at home …
It is a gendered social norm, in fact it is a role attributed to women and that we pass unconsciously from generation to generation.
Since the days when only men had access to studies and professional life, women have succeeded in accessing these means to flourish, learn, discover and participate in the world around them. Corn…
But it turns out that when the first child appears then the woman takes care of the many needs of the newborn. Even if there is now paternity leave in France, the father will return to work long before his partner. The mental load is indeed stronger for the woman in a couple who has the societal injunction to have to keep her house well and “must” also be a perfect mother. When a woman returns to work after maternity leave, everyone finds it “normal” for her to take on parenting duties. After all: women, in the collective unconscious, know how to do that well and it’s easier for everyone.
But managing everything, planning everything leads to exhaustion. How to change these situations? We will come back to this with Julie very soon, because an evolution is always possible and the stakes are high for the families in the making.