Am I a New Domestic?

Wide awake last night at 3 a.m., I put on a Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast to lull me back to sleep. Instead, the latest in the series kept me up for at least an additional hour wondering if my blog and I have all this time been unknowingly part of just another social movement.

The podcast was called New Domesticity - a term author Emily Matchar uses to describe our recent obsession with doing things the old-fashioned way, like shirking modern conveniences like frozen entrees in favour of slow food. Matchar was interviewed by Stuff  Mom Never Told You about her new book Homeward Bound, and the longer she talked about the characteristics of the New Domesticity, the more boxes I checked:

     ☑   backyard chickens

     ☑   growing your own food

     ☑   making jams and pickles

     ☑   EVEN CURING BACON!!!

     ☑   blogging about it all

Was she reading my mind??? She even alluded to things that I secretly hope to tackle in the future:

     ☑   beekeeping

     ☑   knitting a sweater

     ☑   sewing your own clothes

I was so totally freaked that I logged-on to the internet and searched for Matchar's blog to confirm my malaise and self-diagnose: Am I a victim of the New Domesticity? 

At 3:30 a.m. I was sucked into reading her theories on how blogging has given homemakers validation like never before for the work they do; how our fascination with doing things the slow way is our backlash against technology; how we are trying to achieve work/life balance by living as intensely as we work, cramming it all into evenings and weekends; and what does all this mean for feminism?

Perhaps I misdiagnosed myself though (like that time I was certain I had lymphoma when in fact it was a mosquito bite) because she lost me at supermoms, Etsy, hunting, decor, homeschooling, hating your job, and cupcakes. And there was nary a mention of many of my symptoms such as running, snowboarding, sailing, rum, and  frozen pizza once a week.

Just to be on the safe side, I spent the next half hour self-medicating with outdoor adventure blogs (a few of which I have added to the B&K Cool Blogs blogroll on the right sidebar), downloading a passport application, and trying to find a place with a hot-tub at Marble Mountain for spring break.

The new face of New Domesticity?