I loved your meditation on this! It was very thoughtfully written. My bestie Brittany and I actually had a conversation about this on our podcast Just One More Row on episode 68, when we reviewed "Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing The New Domesticity" by Emily Matchar. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. I don't agree with everything she postulates, but it was obviously well-researched and thoughtfully written.

I have to know... what are you knitting in the top two pictures?? I love the stitch pattern!