Like some Christmas movies revolving around reindeer, elves, and Santa Claus, who make it their mission to save the very special holiday, former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron is hoping women can take on a new role this December: save the holiday season and spread joy by cooking, decorating, maintaining tradition, singing songs, and telling stories. On Tuesday, Nov. 11, the actor posted a video to his Facebook page, where he expressed the important job we females have this holiday. He praises,
Calling all moms, wives, and keepers of your home, I made this video for you, to remind you of how irreplaceable you are to your family this Christmas. If you are a mom, if you are a wife, if you're the keeper of your home, I want you to know that your joy is so important this Christmas. Because Christmas is about joy and if the joy of the Lord is your strength, remember, the joy of the mom is her children's strength, so don't let anything steal your joy. If you let your joy get stolen, it will sap your strength. Let your children, your family, see your joy in the way that you decorate your home this Christmas, in the food that you cook, the songs you sing, the stories you tell, and the traditions that you keep. Invite your whole neighborhood into your Christmas, and invite the world into our story of our king and his kingdom.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great when family and friends can celebrate the holidays through tradition, food (I love to bake for the holidays!), songs (I also LOVE Christmas music), and decorating, but the way Cameron is expressing his vision for a perfect holiday comes off archaic and narrow-minded. This is what I'm getting from his message: we as women can only spread joy through our decorations, our cooking, and how we keep a good home. Yes, I think those are all great ways to spread joy, especially for Christmas, but there are other ways to "save Christmas" and spread cheer all year long. What about showing our children that a woman can both work, raise a family, and prepare for Christmas all at once? That spreading happiness isn't just within the home? That it isn't just a woman's job to keep a joyful home during the holidays and every other day of the year? That men help around the house too?
We aren't just "keepers of our homes." Trust me, I think being a stay-at-home mom and raising kids is an extremely tough and respected job (I watched my own mother do it, and I bow down to her for her amazing work), but people like Cameron need to expand their horizons and realize women are much more than wearing an apron, having dinner on the table as soon as their partner walks through the door, and keeping the house spotless. We, like men believe it or not, can do a lot more than be a '50s housewife.
Really, Cameron's remarks shouldn't come as a shock, seeing as we all know how he feels about gay marriage and his openness about other topics that continue to rub people the wrong way.
