I still have to put up with it a little bit but I made it my life’s mission to avoid it as much as possible whilst still being part of mainstream society. I’m so glad that this meme indicates that FINALLY other people are not only not doing it but also denouncing it as much as I have. I’ve had to hold back on bitching about how stupid and irritating it is because it was always something everyone else seemed to have viewed as a mundane, at worst neutral and at best good aspect of everyday life that wasn’t that hard and gave you nice looking clothes. You can’t complain at length about something that is considered in those terms because you just come off as a boring crank. But now finally, if only for a moment I can still feel normal whilst embracing my abiding hatred of the pointless and time wasting practice.
FUCK ironing, and especially fuck whatever dipshit came up with it. Before this was invented wrinkled clothes would have to have been but a fact of life. I’m near certain whoever did come up with this was someone who knew they personally would never have had to do it. For centuries it would have been palmed off on the usual people that had to carry out the shitwork and now, in modern times, we didn’t jettison the practice along with the sexism and classism that forced some to have to do it and not others, we just made it so that now we all have to do it. It delivers no benefit, it’s so fucking stupid aaagghh! Because of the conventions and expectations that formed around it, I’m unfortunately forced to participate in it despite my misgivings, even if only on the bare minimum of occasions. If I have a job interview, or I’m going to a fancy event I have play in to this ridiculous farce that is noticeable only from its absence and help perpetuate it. I sincerely hope this generation really has managed to abolish it and it’s only the remnants of my own upbringing and peers that mean I still have to occasionally do it because the world will be objectively better off if no one ever does this again.
I think what this meme misses is, largely, clothes in the west are now designed to look as if they have been ironed if hung up properly to dry
This is absolutely not a pet peeve of mine that we didn’t just stop ironing due to the lack of social convention (brought on by less time in working people’s lives and less domestic labour done in the home by women) but by new technology in the area of clothing
I like ironing my clothes though and if you show up to a formal family event with a shirt that looks like you rolled around in it, then I will offer to iron for you before the next time.
But I do like ironing. I do it so infrequently, I associate it with getting all fancied up to go out to a special event.
And everything about it is so relaxing… The sound of the water in the iron, the hiss of steam. That clean smell, rising with the hot steam. You’re forced to slow down and pay attention, if you want to get it right.
Whether you’re alone or sharing the moment with company, it’s a recipe for encoding a core memory, deep in there, pinned in place by multiple senses.
I came here to say this. I go into zen mode when ironing my clothes because I only have to do it when I’m either celebrating or doing something very important to me.
All these other things to worry about, but right now, my only enemy is this wrinkle next to the collar.
As a chubby middle aged sales guy who remembers when we used to wear suits, I miss them because a suit and tie is about the best thing you can wear as a chubby guy to look good.
I, for one, do like to iron. I’d probably not like it if it was mandatory for all clothing though. What really has happened is societal changes leading to much more casual attire expectations (not that we could afford to dress like previous generations) alongside advancements in textile technology that have resulted in garments less likely to show wrinkles.
Millennial here, graduated highschool nearly 20 years ago. Still not ironing or owning an iron. If you hang your clothes up to dry and do it properly, you don’t need to iron them.
Yeah… I’m pretty sure you need an iron for those. A decent iron can probably do everything that a hand steamer can so, might as well just go with a nice iron.
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