I am still a male chauvinist

Malina's parents are visiting her here at school, so they are staying at my place. They are a handsome couple from Swedish Finland, both in their forties: him slim and short and dark haired, her blond and plump and all smiles. They arrived yesterday evening.

I tidied up the house a little before then (it really needed it, and more than just a little), but it got kind of late and so some dirty dishes remained unwashed up in the kitchen. They were still waiting there this morning, a few by the sink and some others deep in it, soaking in soap water.

My intention was to attack them this afternoon, but when I got back from my classes I decided to enter some grades on the computer first. Malina's parents sort of walked into the house with me; we exchanged a few pleasantries and then I came here into my room, and they went upstairs. Not long afterwards I heard water running in the kitchen, accompanied by the tinkling of cutlery on crockery. It went on for quite a while, so I knew they were washing everything.

I continued to type away, but I felt ashamed, of course. Guests coming into my house and having to do my dirty dishes! Not very nice. Thus, when I heard them coming down I went out and met them at the front door. They were going for a hike, apparently. I addressed myself to Malina's mom and said:

- Thank you so much for doing my dishes. I should have done them before. How shameful.

They both smiled and she replied:

- Actually, I didn't do them. It was my husband.

I laughed, thanked him, and apologized for the assumption, and they made nothing of it. I appeared to do the same, but took it more seriously, in my heart of hearts. I have always prided myself of having few prejudices, you see. Sexism, genderism and homophobia, in particular, I have experienced from the receiving end so I've made a special effort to take them out of me. I thought I had, mostly, and prided myself on that, but obviously I still make assumptions such as "if there's a man, a woman, and dirty dishes, it must be the woman who washes them." How shameful and despicable I find this, and yet what an opportune call to be careful about complacency. Particularly in ourselves.

I grew up in an environment that was sexist, genderist, homophobic, racist, classist and anti-environmentalist to varying extents. I will have to fight against the mechanical assumptions I learned back then all my life.