We already know that women in a household must think and take on many more tasks than their spouse. Between preparing meals, cleaning, managing the children (feeding them, washing them, helping them with their homework, taking them to school, etc.), organizing vacations, the women are never idle once they return home. at her’s. The preoccupation of their mind with tasks falls on their sanity.
Another form of this mental load is added to this extra work: kinkeeping. A 19-year-old student explains in a TikTok video, viewed more than 8 million times, this invisible and unknown additional load. What does this English term mean, born in the 80s and which we owe to the American sociologist Carolyn J. Rosenthal?
@thought_dumpy My mom’s life changed when I taught her about this. #feminist #feminism #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #genderrole #genderexpression #education #kinkeeping ♬ original sound – AdviceGirl
Kinkeeping: what is it?
Kinkeeping is a phrase used to describe the unseen, emotional burden placed on women to be the “keepers of family relationships” and to care for others. This includes tasks such as caring for children, organizing family reunions and vacations, caring for elders, and much more. They are often obliged to anticipate everyone’s needs, to manage family conflicts, to organize possible reunions or even to maintain links between the different members. Women, often perceived as having to be responsible for these family relationships, see their mental health weakened by this overload of work and additional stress. Additionally, kinkeeping can be an invisible responsibility that is difficult to recognize and distribute equitably among family members.
©
