The other thing is my grandma is a "feeder," but only of men.
That would make me nuts and I'd have to mention it. Prejudice and bigotry are wrong no matter why they exist.
Oh, it
is kind of nuts. My grandma is kind of a character... Unusually liberal (for her age and location) in some ways, but with these very strong ideas about the differences between what women and men "ought" to do. For example, one of my adult female cousins was staying with my grandma for several days and kept saying to her, "What can I do for you while I'm here? Can I clean, cook, fix something, etc.?" and my grandma kept saying, "Oh no, dear, I don't want you to come here and work! Just enjoy yourself." Then, literally in the same conversation, she turns to my uncle and says, "Sometime next week, could you drive over to my town [some distance away], pick up a new DVD player from Wal-Mart, and install it for me?" Several of us had to comment on that, because it was so ridiculous--there was absolutely no reason why cousin couldn't do that, as cousin herself said. But electronics are something only men can figure out, so...
Actually I think it's insulting to both genders, because my grandma acts like the men couldn't possibly feed themselves adequately if someone didn't do it
for them. Back on topic, I wonder if the OP's MIL has this attitude--maybe not about men, but perhaps about "the younger generation"? Like, somehow she imagines the OP and her DH sitting around their living room eating fast food or beans from a can or something, until they come to the oasis of real food that is MIL's house.