Patriarchy

I am not a radical feminist by any means, but I do tend to get a bit worked up when strict gender roles are assigned in households (or any contexts), and when men insist on being in charge of their wives in any form or fashion.  I absolutely LOVE my homestay family and could not have asked for a better one, but I have encountered this problem here.  Khulu (the grandfather) stumbles in the door in an intoxicated state most evenings.  His wife has his supper ready for him, serves it to him, brings him water, brings him his pills, and tends to him until he goes to bed.  Making dinner for your spouse and serving him or her is totally fine, but I get the feeling (and based on other examples Ive seen here, Im pretty confident that Im correct) that he expects her to do this every evening.  It is her job to cook and clean, and to serve him when he needs/wants to be served.  For her to question this role would be seen as defiant, and therefore unacceptable behavior.  It definitely could be worse and much more blatant, but as I said earlier, any kind of strict gender roles piss me off.  Oh well.  This is their house, not mine.  I refuse to “get used to it,” but I will certainly be respectful and keep my mouth shut (difficult for me, but I can do it).