My Beatified Laundrette?
The Vatican, apparently having decided that it just hadn't offended enough people lately, celebrated International Women’s Day this Sunday with a headline article in its newspaper, l’Osservatore Romano, championing the washing machine as the greatest instrument of women's liberation in the 20th century.

Titled The Washing Machine and the Liberation of Women - Put in the Detergent, Close the Lid and Relax, the article opines, "What in the 20th century did more to liberate Western women? The debate is heated. Some say the pill, some say abortion rights and some the right to work outside the home. Some, however, dare to go further: the washing machine."

In support of her claim, the author dredges up a quote from Betty Friedan, who in 1963 described "the sublime mystique to being able to change the bed sheets twice a week instead of once".

The article goes on to outline the development of the mechanical laundry washer from the 1700s to present, ending with the observation that it has been the development of household conveniences more than any other factor in the modern era which has allowed the development of, "the image of the super woman, smiling, made-up and radiant among the appliances of her house."

Public reaction to l’Osservatore Romano's "tribute" has been chilly at best.


While this is certainly not a new argument, the last time it was seriously advanced was well over 50 years ago.