From Steve Dalton, Chipstead, Kent, UK
Farah Mendlesohn interestingly and entertainingly cites historical sources for the labour of tidying up being, and always having been, assigned to women (Letters, 9 February). It does not follow that men are less tidy by nature. Look at accounts of life on board naval vessels from the 17th century onwards to see just how obsessively clean and tidy men of all ranks can be.
