In Silent Spring, Carson describes the kitchen and the garden as poisoned places. What particular implications do these observations have for...

The impacts of poison in the kitchen and garden are more focused toward women, at least in the home setting. Silent Spring was published in 1962, when women usually worked in kitchens, gardens, and the home. Few were allowed to work or seek a higher education. As a result, women prepared almost all meals and took care of the front and back garden.

At work, however, these issues would affect primarily men. Almost all farm...

The impacts of poison in the kitchen and garden are more focused toward women, at least in the home setting. Silent Spring was published in 1962, when women usually worked in kitchens, gardens, and the home. Few were allowed to work or seek a higher education. As a result, women prepared almost all meals and took care of the front and back garden.

At work, however, these issues would affect primarily men. Almost all farm workers were men, and as such were exposed to much higher doses of chemicals than most housewives. Being a chef was also a male-dominated career, and these workers were exposed to more concentrations of chemicals than women preparing meals for their families.

While I have never met or talked with Carson, I would assume she was more aware of the effects on women than the effects on men, as she was a women and was more attuned to dealing with issues affecting her gender. Also, although the men working in the farming and cooking industries were significantly affected by the chemicals Carson discussed, they proportionally affected more women because most men did not work as farmers or cooks.