The Gendered Experience of Weather

How patriarchy creates different climates within the same household

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In cities across India, the May sun has become almost unbearable. Temperatures cross 40°C, power cuts are frequent, and heatwaves threaten public health. Yet within the same household, responses to the heat vary dramatically — often along gender lines.

While some describe the weather as “manageable” or even “pleasant,” others report exhaustion, headaches, and relentless discomfort. This contrast is not rooted in biology or exaggeration. It is rooted in patriarchy.

For many men, heat is an inconvenience. But for women, it is a daily battle. The difference lies not in the weather itself, but in how differently men and women experience their surroundings due to the unequal distribution of labor and rest within the home.

How weather becomes gendered

Weather is often assumed to be a neutral, shared experience. But in reality, even something as universal as the climate is shaped by social structures. In a patriarchal society, where domestic labor falls disproportionately on women, daily temperatures become yet another axis of inequality.

A man might comment on how breezy the afternoon is while sitting under a fan, sipping a cold drink…