Shutting Down The Agora Does NOT Benefit The Hestia

One thing some people seem to believe is that the coronavirus lockdowns were good regardless of the virus because they somehow strengthened the domestic sphere, and thus benefited Women.  That is, shutting down the Agora (marketplace or public sphere) was supposedly good for the Hestia (home and hearth, or private/domestic sphere), and by extension good for Women on balance.   But not only is there no hard evidence of any such benefit (and in fact plenty of harm), it also reeks to high heaven of gender essentialism as well.  And such gender essentialism is a pedestal that looks more and more like a prison every day.

Shutting down the Agora (or at least the parts considered "non-essential" by the powers that be) and unduly restricting civil rights and liberties does far more harm than good.  It is a crude and blunt instrument that does not just affect this thing over here, but also that thing over there, and that other thing way over there, and so on.  Mass unemployment, depression (both psychological and economic), poverty, poor mental health, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, loneliness, and things like that are not at all good for anyone, Women catch the brunt of it, and adversely effects both the public and private spheres.

Seriously, don't shut down again!