14 DAY TRIAL // Before thinking which gifts to get for Christmas, assuming you’re the kind of early bird that has everything planned out ahead of time, if you’re a woman, you should first think of what you’re going to do this Christmas to make your family happier. And there’s no better place to do that than the kitchen.
This is the message from active evangelical Christian and actor Kirk Cameron, one of the biggest child actors ever, who got his start on “Growing Pains.”
The message is actually a promo for his most recent movie, called “Saving Christmas.” And no, it is not some sort of a joke or a parody.
No better place for women than the kitchen
In a video posted to his Facebook page, Cameron urges women (be they mothers, wives, or “keepers of the home”) to remember what it is that makes Christmas great: it’s not the lavish or less so gifts, it’s not the shopping frenzy, and it’s definitely not the free pass to eat until you feel like you’re about to burst.
Christmas is an important holy-day and it should be celebrated accordingly, by joining your family in prayer – but not before you've made sure they are well-fed and entertained, if you’re a woman.
You can see Cameron’s message embedded below, but here’s what would best sum it up: “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. Let your children, your family, see your joy in the way 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,” Cameron says.
He also invites his fans to check out his new movie, but as you may imagine, it’s his plea to women that’s getting more attention than the release.
Opening a can of worms
Cameron does have a point about Christmas being something else than what we’ve witnessed it being turned into, no matter the God you believe in. So it’s not his plea to fans to join hand in prayer that’s getting on many nerves – or what has turned this video into a viral one.
But why should only the woman stay in the kitchen, voices online are asking. Why can’t the man help out, and why is a woman supposed to be putting her wellbeing and her happiness last, just so she can be the caterer not just for the family, but for the entire neighborhood?
As you might imagine, feminists and not only (because various celebrity publications have also weighed in on the debate) are speaking out against Cameron, saying he’s pushing antiquated notions just so he can promote a movie. And he’s claiming he’s “saving” Christmas from commercialization by being an active player in the process, because he’s releasing a movie, by the way.
The two tweets below are illustrative of the messages people and e-zines have been posting in response to his plea to women. They are, we might add, the most diplomatic in tone.
That’s not to say that Cameron doesn’t have his supporters, because he does: the comments to this post on his Facebook page are proof of that. There are many people out there who are actually feeling gratitude towards him for spreading the word.
Village idiot Kirk Cameron wants women to know their place in the home this Christmas. http://t.co/7xQxpc5m6S
— Gawker (@Gawker) November 13, 2014
You womenfolk better be fonts of joy this Christmas, as your duty is in the home, spreading happiness. http://t.co/cR8jonvhNy
— Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) November 13, 2014
