housewife

I don't understand why women complain about being housewives.

In our modern society, no woman is forced to become what was once viewed as the typical wife. Women are not expected to put on an apron and just serve her whole life as before. But some women, as myself, find this idea of a housewife intriguing. However old fashioned it may be, this idea of becoming a housewife seems rewarding to me, for I am one who wants to give and give and give. But many women, on the opposite side of the debate, find that 'housewife' is just a degrading cultural mistake that should ultimately be forgotten.

According to this study at National Statistics Online1, most women enjoy what they do at home, and most men enjoy their jobs as well. So whats the problem? Why does everything have to be about 'fairness?' These tasks which are assigned to each of the genders are gender fitting. For example, it makes sense that since men are bigger and stronger that they should work on physical tasks, such as yardwork. And women, who are taught from a young age to be care givers and detail oriented should take on tasks such as childcare and cooking.

Household tasks differ by gender. Men contribute most to yard work and home maintenace, while women carry 75% of the burden for grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, and dishwashing. The difference is that men's tasks can be delayed, while women's tasks are constant.2

But is it really fair for men to expect so much of women at home when the number of women in the workplace keeps growing and growing? Now do women not only have the responsibility of a job away from home, but they have the daily tasks that come along with having a household and children.

Women do more housework than men. On average, women ages 18-65 spend about 30 hours per week in paid employment and 22 hours doing housework (see also Arlie Hochschild's, The Second Shift, 1989). Men average about ten hours per week doing housework, a figure which changes little when their wives work and they have young children in the household.2

But then we must ask ourselves, as women, can we really place the blame on men? After all, it is ourselves trying to break the barriers and expand into the world as a fighting army of women in the workplace. We take on too much. I strongly believe that with the man as the provider for the family and with the woman as the primary caregiver and houseworker, a family can function happily and successfully. That is not to say that this 'system' of family is foolproof and the best way to live, but it seems to be the most practical, at least for my life.


1. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=288
2. http://asweb.artsci.uc.edu/sociology/kunzctr/stats.htm#housework%20and%20child%20care