“The Ill-Trained Labrador Retriever”: Dave Barry’s Argument About the Stereotypes of Men in the Kitchen

            Dave Barry’s “Lost in the Kitchen” displays a humorous view of men’s involvement with Thanksgiving Day preparations, arguing that the typical male is incapable of doing anything related to work in the kitchen.  Barry uses humorous language, metaphors, and personal experiences to successfully communicate his belief that men are “basically scum” (Barry 82) on Thanksgiving, targeting traditional stereotypes about men and women in the kitchen.

            Dave Barry is a humorist, so most people might consider his claim that men are incompetent in the kitchen false at first glance because humorist is not usually viewed as a reliable source of accurate information.  However, Barry draws heavily from his personal experiences as a “fairly typical” (83) man to support his claim and give his audience confidence that his humorous “scientific findings” (82) and “[laws] of physics” (83) about men are actually true.  This confidence the readers gain after establishing Barry’s legitimacy allows them to fully engage in his topic of discussion.  They are able to view his beliefs as valid because his “exhaustive study of what happened last Thanksgiving” (82) verifies to them that Barry has authentic proof that men are essentially lazy on Thanksgiving. 

By having sufficient proof of his point, Barry is able to target the stereotype that men do not and cannot work in the kitchen, especially on Thanksgiving Day.  Many people believe stereotypes to be broad, over-generalizations that do not apply to their actual lives but Barry admits that “[he is] fairly typical” (83), implying that there are many other men who act similar to him.  By the characterization of himself as “typical”, Barry is able to appeal to the larger part of his audience, evoking a sense of connection and sympathy.  His readers then feel that they can relate to his experiences because they have both reached a common ground.  Therefore, his audience can view Barry’s argument as valid because they see the proof of men’s ineptness in their own lives.

Barry also creates this mutual understanding through clever and effective metaphors.  He compares men around the kitchen to “ill-trained Labrador retrievers” (82), evoking the image that men are huge, slobbering dogs that just get in the way of work that needs to be done when they are actually trying to help.  The Labrador serves as a familiar concept to most people, allowing them to make this connection between man and slobbering dog.  Barry also compares the women to “prosecuting [attorneys] responsible for a large staff” (83), intending to illustrate the complexity of the preparation of the Thanksgiving dinner to his readers through the elicitation of the idea that women work a multifaceted operation in order to achieve their desired goal: a delicious and filling dinner.  Barry’s creative metaphors allow his readers to make the same mental connection as he did by his use of familiar images and scenarios.

He also uses these metaphors to more explicitly target the stereotypes placed on men and women regarding their roles in the kitchen.  His self-identification of a “typical” male combined with his personal experiences gives him the ability to focus on these stereotypes and identify them ultimately as true.  His initial argument that men are “basically scum” (82) when it comes to work in the kitchen, is proven true by his success in confirming the stereotypes of men and women.