An Open Response to the Retro Housewife and Her Lunch Ladies
While I won’t disagree that today’s working world is more hectic than ever and that people are working longer hours for less pay (so much for unions), I must take issue with what you’ve said about where women do belong. Personally, I wouldn’t mind being a house husband. In fact, I welcome the idea. I guess that’s because, in a way, I agree with you about the misery of having a 9-5, but I wouldn’t say that women belong in the kitchen. If I’m going to adopt your logic, I’d go ahead and say that women don’t belong in the kitchen–they belong in bed.
Why hassle with hair, makeup, laundry, dirty dishes and the kids? Let dad take care of those things when he gets home, and when he’s done with the chores, you’ll be waiting, legs spread, anticipating him to give you just what you deserve for being lazy and laying around in your pajamas all day.
Maybe I’ve gone too far. The spread legs was a bit much. I guess if I’m going to look at housewifery from the standpoint of a male, I should be forthcoming about my opinions of housewifery based on my own desire to be a house husband. I think it’s laziness. Pure and simply laziness–until your family is affected with one of those godforsaken creatures called a “child.” Might as well throw out all your plans for a slender figure and a fulfilling social life after contracting something like that.
But damn, does your pink nylon babydoll cami worldview look tempting.
August 16th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
WOW! I am utterly astounded that this topic of stay home housewife vs. working woman still has any life to it! As a former highway planner/engineer, I can HONESTLY say I’ve done the 9 to 5 (yeah right, more like 6 to 10) thing and it was rewarding. Now I stay at home, my kids drive me crazy, I spend my days cooking and cleaning, and then making my husband VERY HAPPY at night. Hmmm, which do I like better? Well, both really. It’s a 50-50. I think women who work because it is the right choice for them is wonderful. However, having been home the last 4 years, I’m happy as well. Please do not discriminate against those of us who actually ENJOY being the Lucy Ricardo or June Cleaver of 2006. It just happens to be what WE like. You don’t have to. No one else has to like our lifestyle. We and our respective families are the only persons who are allowed to pass judgement on that. Seriously, this isn’t a movement about redefining women’s roles. It’s about getting the world to see that some of us are truly happy with going back to the simpler way of living. Us retro housewives would never condemn another woman for working outside the home. We simply take exception when we are told we are wrong for standing up for our right to have a lovely pot roast on the table when hubby gets home, the kids freshly scrubbed and smiling, and the house spotless. We enjoy wearing the heels and pearls to clean the house and we also enjoy wearing the lacy pink babydoll and feathered heels to spice up the nightlife. Funny, those of us who do live this way don’t have chauvenistic husbands who demand it. They enjoy our choices, would be happy if we worked outside the home as well, but simply let us play house the way we like it. Our husbands are generally quite the opposite. They consult with us on everything. They appreciate our level of involvement with the everyday matters of the home. They treat us as equals, and often as superior, as we really do keep the castle standing. The judgement is quite severe toward us, but yet we stand here neatly coifed and smiling, knowing that in the long run, we’ll still be living our happy lives no matter what society trends come and go! But thank you for your oh-so-educated opinion on “our type”.
August 16th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
Oh-so-educated! Hah! I love it.
August 16th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I must comment on all the requests. First of all see the bigger picture. Home is where the heart is. Think of a company that takes care of four other companies. Each sub company needs to be housed, fed and dressed, educated molded and shaped. Look at you credit card bill, where does all the money go? Household. The current RHW is responsible for spending most of the income of the house, educating children, paying bills, and taking care of the most important financial asset we have, our homes. Do you want some one running your personal corperation part time?
August 17th, 2006 at 12:03 am
I’m kind of wondering who is requesting your comment? Second of all, see the better grammar. Skip the trite statements. Skip the poorly developed metaphors. And it’s spelled “corporation.” See: http://www.thecorporation.com/
I don’t mean to be trifling. I taught College Composition for 2 years.
August 17th, 2006 at 12:06 am
This is a test of the emergency hyperlink system. If this had been an actual emergency, the text you just read wouldn’t have been followed by the loading of another website.
August 17th, 2006 at 1:30 am
Jonathon, why the anger and hostility toward these women? Your comments gave me a chuckle as I wish my staying at home involved being lazy and jammies all day. My husband has had to come home once or twice to take over when I was sick, and he’ll tell you that there’s no lounging around. If you aspire to take on househusbandry, I suggest learning to function on far less sleep and perfect the art of multitasking. You might want to try softening that sharp tongue of yours too, as no woman is going to spread her legs for that kind of sweet talk.
August 17th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Don’t worry, ladies. Jonathan just likes to be unreasonable for the attention (Look, three new women for him to goad!) His version of househusbandry is doing the dishes after the sink has been full for two days, and leaving his clean laundry semi-folded beneath a new pile of dirty clothes. And his idea of an intelligent debate centers around, well, himself.
August 23rd, 2006 at 7:03 pm
natasjia
you beat me to the punch. he is obviously JEALOUS. (smile). love on housewives!!! hate on johnnie!
August 24th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Funny, what I read from his tone was a sort of snarling ’sour grapes’ attitude, and perhaps a frustrated desire to wear frilly pink nylon babydoll camisoles. It’s okay, Johnnie, to want to wear pretty things, but let’s not confuse sexuality with housekeeping. The sexy French Maid costume may be nice, but it has nothing to do with the daily reality of housekeeping, any more than the sexual fantasy of the hard-bodied ultra-virile construction worker means that we can expect the real ones to stop what they are doing and strike a pose for us.
August 24th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Who asked you for your opinion, Meg? GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN!