History StayInTheKitchen / Literature

* Wulfgar in R. A. Salvatore's ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels (you know, the ones with [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt Do'Urden]]) starts getting entirely irrational ideas like this when he's to be getting married to Catti-Brie, even though he knows she's an ActionGirl already. If he'd only admitted it made no sense and seen it was just his dumb culture keeping hold of his subconscious, but no...

* Despite what they're famous for, this is the real point of John Norman's ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' books. Definitely meant as an example of the "sweet and well-intentioned" variety but since ''every single woman'' enjoys being enslaved it just feels creepy.
** At least in some of the early books it was more even-handed, discussing that all women want ''both'' freedom and slavery in different amounts at different times, and the same being true for men.

* ''Literature/WhenWomenWereDragons'': It is 1950's American suburbia, after all. Alex's father discourages her from pursuing a college education, unless she's out for an MrsDegree. He would much rather [[FantasyForbiddingFather she forget the whole math thing]] and marry right out of high school. Alex's mother takes her role as a housewife very seriously and sometimes punishes other women who will not conform. For example, she briefly cuts off communication with her sister until the latter agrees to take a husband.

* In ''Literature/DarkLife'' there is mention of a new sect of Christianity called the New Puritans which believes that GobalWarming was [[TheGreatFlood God punishment for our sinful ways]] and that woman should [[OldTimeyAnkleTaboo “wear long dress”]] and “practice obedience” to help stop the [[FloodedFutureWorld rising]].

* This is true for most of the polities in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}''. The New Confederacy finds women in the military incompatible with Southern chivalry, and the Nazis share similar sentiments, as does the reactionary Northern Confederation. The only significant exception is Azania, which is a LadyLand and is mocked by the Confederation in particular for its female soldiers.

* Creator/HBeamPiper's ''Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen'' does this with [[LadyOfWar Rylla]], who has been [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent raised as a boy]] owing to her father's inability to produce a son. When she breaks her leg leading an otherwise successful cavalry charge, Kalvan tries to get her nurses to pretend that her limb hasn't healed so she'll hopefully miss the rest of the fighting. Fortunately for him, [[spoiler:she figures out what he had been doing and leads a small squad of cavalry who happen to arrive in the right place to capture an enemy commander who had been attempting to flee the battlefield]]. In a twist, Kalvan knows entirely well that his wife is one of the better fighters around. He also knows that she's very reckless of her personal safety and that the dynasty cannot survive both of them dying in the same battle. Later on, when she finally learns to be a ''little'' more careful, he raises fewer objections to her leaving the castle.

* Wulfgar in R. A. Salvatore's ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' novels (you know, the ones with [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt Do'Urden]]) starts getting entirely irrational ideas like this when he's to be getting married to Catti-Brie, even though he knows she's an ActionGirl already. If he'd only admitted it made no sense and seen it was just his dumb culture keeping hold of his subconscious, but no...

** The bizarre case of Tonks. Once she becomes a mother, Lupin and others are mostly concerned with keeping her safe. She's a fully-trained Auror, and probably the second best fighter left in the order. Once she shows up, though, she heads to the front lines immediately. Harry even notes this in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', when Lupin offers to join the group on their quest and adds that Tonks is staying with her mother. Harry thinks this is odd and that Tonks would be more likely to want to join in on the action as well. This is right before he finds out Tonks is pregnant. When Tonks shows up to fight later in the book, it's after her son has already been born.

* In ''Literature/TheInvertedWorld'', Helward's wife Victoria complains that the Guild system encourages this kind of attitude: women aren't allowed to become Guild members and are expected to devote all their time to producing children. The root of the problem is actually the skewed gender ratio of births in the City: the live birth of females is so rare that, even with mandatory marriage at a young age, it is becoming difficult to keep the population up.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', everybody tries to keep Éowyn away from the battlefield, and King Théoden wants her to stay in Meduseld and rule Rohan in his absence, thereby giving her another "man's job" instead. Éowyn disguises herself and goes to battle anyway (though it's never made clear whom ''she'' deputized to stay and rule Rohan). And while she's at it, she brings [[GenderBlenderName Merry]] with her, when he has also been excluded from the troops on account of being too short. She and Merry [[spoiler:kill the Witch King of Angmar, a.k.a the guy who killed King Théoden]]. Who, we should point out, is [[spoiler:thousands of years old and mighty enough to give Gandalf serious pause, and there's a prophecy claiming that [[NoManOfWomanBorn no man]] can kill him]]. Isn't irony great? Possible subversion: In this case "the kitchen" is being [[TheGoodChancellor regent of Rohan]]. Someone from a less [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy militaristic]] people than the Rohirrim might have considered it a compliment.

* Inverted in Catherine Asaro's ''Literature/SkolianSaga''. The upper classes of the Skolian Empire are like this--some of them even forbid their male family members from seeing anyone who's not a relative except under strict supervision, although they're considered to be ultra-conservative and somewhat out-of-touch for it. The kidnapped princeling in ''Undercity'' desperately wants to go to university and become a marine biologist, but his mother won't allow it. [[spoiler: After Major Bhaajan figures out that the kidnappers were able to get him because he was so unhappy he ran away, she relents, and by the end of the book he's enrolled.]]
* ActionGirl Brienne from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is frequently reminded by minor characters that "a woman's war is in the birthing bed," even though she'd really have no problem mopping the floor with all of them. It's ''very'' worth pointing out the society of Westeros is incredibly sexist, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance being based on medieval Europe]], and Lord Randyll Tarly is not only against women being anything but wives and mothers he is also against noblemen being anything other than warriors. His merciless and brutal attempts to 'make a man' out of his cowardly, obese, book-loving, song-singing, home and hearth inclined son Samwell are wonderful evidence. Lord Tarly takes gender roles very seriously...
** This is a particularly dark example because there's really nothing protective about his attitude toward her. He doesn't bother to hide the fact that he's really, really hoping something terrible will happen to her so that she'll learn her lesson and get back in the kitchen where women belong. Also deconstructed. This mentality actually puts most women in danger more than it protects them from it. Most women and girls in Westeros cannot defend themselves because they've been discouraged from learning how; nor can they enforce chivalry. Without male guardians, a situation that occurs frequently, especially for peasant women, they're sitting ducks. And there are many men out there who WouldHitAGirl.

* Spenser and Susan Silverman in the ''Literature/{{Spenser}}'' series often discuss this, with Spenser often doing his best to protect Susan. It annoys her, but since he's an ex-cop and private detective and she's a psychiatrist she grudgingly defers to his judgments on matters that could get them both killed.

* A twist in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' - the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Alethi]] have ''very'' strict gender roles (particularly in the aristocracy) that define "masculine arts" (politics, combat, commerce, etc) and "feminine arts" (art, science, history, etc). For either gender, stepping outside these roles is seen as scandalous - a woman who wanted to fight would be "told her place", but the same would go for a man who wanted to write a book. There are a few exceptions, though. The priesthood is open to both genders, and priests have at least some leeway in terms of gender roles. And since all the gender roles are based on an ancient book defining them, jobs that didn't exist back then (such as horse groom) are gender-neutral.
* A [[Literature/SweetValleyHigh Sweet Valley Twins]] book had the girls dealing with a homeroom teacher who had this attitude. Literally -- he takes the money collected for the class to ''buy'' lunch on a class trip and gives it to the girls for them to buy supplies and ''make'' lunch for the entire class. He also assigns the girls to clean up duties and seems genuinely incapable of believing that the girls are just as adept at sports and class offices as the boys are.
* It’s illegal for women to read in ''Literature/TheTaleOfMagic'' and they aren’t expected to be anything other than an obedient wife and mother. Brystal’s father believes this to such a degree he doesn’t think a women should correct anything a man says; even if he was saying the sky was purple.

* In the Literature/TortallUniverse, noble women were mostly trained to be polite, beautiful and good at managing estates. [[Literature/SongOfTheLioness Alanna]] decided she would be having none of that, so disguised herself as a boy and trained to be a knight. After revealing her gender, saving the land several times and the King marrying another competent fighter from another land, this ''begins'' to dissolve. The follow-up series, ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', shows that the attitude is alive and kicking as sexists continually try to block Keladry from becoming a knight.

* In ''The Cat Ate My Gymsuit,'' Marcy's father expresses this attitude toward her and her mother.