How can some WOMEN believe that a woman's place is in the home?

Question

I totally agree with your RIGHT and FREEDOM to stay at home if you wish, but you absolutely cannot believe that is right for all women - what about those of us who want to use our brains doing other things than deciding how to cook the Lasagna or teaching little Freddie his ABCs... And what about infertile women? If you put the emphasis on women's biological functions to determine how they should act - what about women with different than normal hormonal balances and women who cannot have children? Men's roles are determined by their MENTAL characteristics and I don't see why women should have to be determined by their PHYSICAL ones.

Women's Lib has given women the freedom to choose. Would you prefer be subservient to a man, cooking and cleaning and raising the kids, uneducated, possibly beaten, probably not with a man you actually loved or chose...?

Answer 1

How can some WOMEN believe that a woman's place is in the home?
To answer this I'm going to break this down a piece at a time, there's a lot to answer here:

what about those of us who want to use our brains doing other things than deciding how to cook the Lasagna or teaching little Freddie his ABCs...
- Don't have kids then. If you want to make something else your life's work, by all means go and do it.However, once kids come into it the focus should shift, especailly their first 5 years.This is the time that sets kids up for the rest of their lives, and to neglect them by choice because you feel they're less important that your career is just plain selfish. This, of course is not directed at the women that have to work to keep the physical needs met.However,to pass the job on to others such as nannies, day care, etc,simply because you see it as unimportant is just sad, and trvializes the work that more hands-on mothers (and fathers) actually do. Okay, so you don't want to teach your child his ABC's. That's just tragic, that it's not important enough to instill a love of learning, and you're going to miss out on some very wonderful moments. This is part of the reason why schoolchildren read things in elementary school that their grandchildren don't read until college now. Don't want to make the lasagne? also missing the point, because they also learn nutrition from what they eat growing up, so you have children that think MCdonald's and Chef boy-ar-dee qualify as food.

And what about infertile women? If they adopt, as many do, I would say the same choices apply, though with what prospective parents have to go through, it's more obvious that they're already willing to make sacrifices for their children

If you put the emphasis on women's biological functions to determine how they should act - what about women with different than normal hormonal balances and women who cannot have children? Men's roles are determined by their MENTAL characteristics and I don't see why women should have to be determined by their PHYSICAL ones.
As I stated earlier, it's not in reaction to biological roles, but by the choice to beome a parent or not. Men also change their life because of their role as fathers. How many have worked jobs they hated for decades to provide for their families?

Women's Lib has given women the freedom to choose.
Not true. "first wave" feminism may have gained the right to vote, but long before that there were Women's colleges, and distinguised women like Marie Curie.
Would you prefer be subservient to a man?
If you're reffering to the Biblical idea of submission, the modern (sexual) definition of this word has clouded its meaning. Sumission does not mean subservience, only that the man has the final say.The same passage instructs men to love and sacrifice for their wives, so it hardly condones treating a wife like a slave.
, cooking and cleaning and raising the kids, absolutely.Given the opportunity to be a stay at home mother, bieng able to give my full energy and attention to the people I love rather than a boss/company that could outsource me the next day,there's not even a comparison. uneducated, possibly beaten: Are you referring to conditions under the Taliban? I don't disagree with you that life is bad for many women in other parts of the world, but it's equally bad for men in the same places.
probably not with a man you actually loved or chose...
In the western world, arranged marriages were gone before women's liberation was on the scene. Even in the cases that a marriage was arranged, it was done by both sets of parents and a good match was the goal Even in today's marriages to a man that the woman loves at the time she marries, half of these end in divorce, so it's not guaranteed either.

Answer 2

Feminism 101.
Most feminists support the right that women have to choose whether to stay at home with their children or go out into the workforce. I don't think anyone with any idea of equality would believe that a woman's job is to stay at home, and not contribute financially, especially in an economy that almost requires at least two incomes to live comfortably. Its about freedom of choice.
Staying at home with your children is a very important job, and I think most feminists would agree that stay-at-home moms deserve more respect and credit than they currently do. That said, we as a society should not demean the women who choose to join the workforce.
I think your question may have been misinterpreted a bit. I see your point, and it is valid. However, the last paragraph seems to be what is sparking some anger amongst the masses. It should be pointed out that not all women who stay at home are uneducated, subservient, unloved, or victims of domestic violence, although there are unfortunately some women like that out there. The main point is that women should have the choice to live as they please and not be degraded either way for the decisions they make.

Therefore, it should be noted to the rest of the population (Alexandra) that feminism DOES NOT equate to ignorance. Feminism is simply the radical idea that women are human, to use a somewhat cliched slogan. Look it up in a dictionary. Society has demonized the word, but an intelligent person would learn to distinguish the difference.

Answer 3

Women who believe that aren't taking into consideration what the implications are of being forced into economic dependance - emphasis on FORCED - it's different for women who choose to stay home. If gender roles dictate what women can or cannot do, then women are either financially dependant on men, or on the state. They're forced into marriage, cannot leave an abusive husband, have no financial freedom, cannot make financial decisions, and are subservient to their husbands.

Also, before the industrial revolution, women did work to contribute to the finances of the family. It was only when there became a divide between the private sphere and the public sphere that women worked unpaid within the home. It's not "natural" for women to be in the home, nor is it "natural" for children to be at home all day long with their mothers. Historically, that has never been the case.

Also, ironically, the female journalists who publish articles and books about how "a woman's place is in the home" are themselves working. For pay. It's possible that they don't even believe what they're writing - after all, wouldn't it make THEM bad mothers/wives? Is it possible that they're just writing this crap for financial gain?

The whole thing is ridiculous. These women are a lost cause, until they get an education.

Answer 4

If she is raising young children, yes. Imagine being a young child, and spending 8-9 hours with people who don't love you, and may not even like you. Taking naps on a foam mat, holding a rope instead of a hand, to go for a walk (if you're allowed out of the fence at all), then being picked up, fed dinner and put to bed, just to start it all again the next day. If a woman chooses not to have kids, she can do what ever she wants, but it's cruel to expect to "have it all" at the expense of children. I'm sure someone will say that dads can do the same thing, but truthfully, very young children need MOTHERS.

Answer 5

Maybe the women who want to have a family and children in their life instead of beeing f*cked and chucked untill someday noone picks them up anymore. No man starts a family with a woman that competes against him. He gets her pregnant at best. Also those women are probably generalizing, by a woman`s place the refer to the vast majority of women, I doubt any of them would tell a lesbian women to eat $hit and get hitched and pregnant anyway. If you think a womans place is among the worker bees making some rich man richer, go for it.
In all fairness I should add that women thesedays seeking a good father and husband might have an similiar hard time getting somone who is STD free like a guy looking for a wife who hasnt done everybody on the team.

Answer 6

WOW! Stereotype alert!

Good grief! Plenty of educated women stay home or choose part-time employment. Just because a person is at home for a few of their child's formative years doesn't make them some mindless, slave-like drudge! Uneducated? Beaten? Where did you dig up that image?

I have an undergraduate degree and I stay home with my children (for now). As they age, I will go into the workforce and have, what I hope will prove to be, a very active career. I chose to do it this way because it works for me and I happen to like (for the most part) having the opportunity to be present for my children's early years.

I've known plenty of other women who wouldn't want to stay home. That is fine, too. Whatever works.

You said it yourself, women's lib is about choice. Choice to stay, choice not to. :-)

Answer 7

I just have to say that I'm 25 and have three kids of my own, plus two stepkids, and I stay home with them. I beleive that every woman has the right to go work, women can do the job just as good(sometimes better) than men can. But how dare you try to downgrade women who make the choice to raise their own kids instead of having a baby sitter do it? How can you possibly think that raising kids isn't as important as having a job?I'm contributing to society as great a deal as any woman with a job, because I'm teaching my kids how to grow up right,and they are our future. And any parent knows that the best person to teach your kids is the parent. I used to work until my last son was born, and I'm sorry, but there is a major difference in the amount of time you can devote to your child if you are at home with them. I missed my first son's and daughter's first steps, and my son's first word, because it happened at the sitter's. And my children would be picking up all sorts of bad habits that they definitely werent getting from home. My children are much happier and, even though I can't control what they hear at school, I know they have a strong foundation to build off of, because I was home with them. That I beleive is doing something important. Yeah there's some women who don't work because they are lazy, but there are some who are doing it because they consider it an important developmental stage for their children at the time when they are young. When they are all in school, I plan on working again. And just to let you know, I am not subservient to any man, and my husband knows this. This was my choice. Am I beaten, never. Am I uneducated? I made it through more grade levels than my working huband, graduated, went through two years of college and am a certified pharmacy technician, and my previous job was 6 years manufacturing autopilots and other systems for aircrafts. Am I stupid?No. I just love my kids.Do a little more research on the topic and you'll probably find that most stay at home moms are just like me.

Answer 8

Because ALLAH made women to be in the home. If a woman has children than she should be in the home taking care of her husband's children and the home. She can be a teacher for the girl students or a doctor for the female patients but that's because those are better suited to her nature. ALLAH made men to be the protectors of women. Men are supposed to provide for the family and the wife is supposed to take care of the home. Infertile women should stay and take care of the home as well. Why should women need to work? I am a Muslim woman and am liberated already. My husband doesn't hit me, he lets me have a job inside the home, he provides for my well being, and he'll let me go to college as soon as he gets a job. Not all women want to work outside the home. Also there are dangers for women outside the home. They might cheat on their husband's, flirt with other men, they can get kidnapped, raped robbed, mugged, accosted on the street, killed, etc.

Answer 9

What's so liberating about the 40-hour-a-week grind? See, I've been there, and I much prefer to be home with my son! I think being a housewife is MUCH more liberating! I think I'd rather go to the zoo with my son than be cooped up in some cubicle all day!

When a woman is submissive to her husband, she is NOT his slave, and he is not to treat her as such. The Bible, in fact, COMMANDS husbands to LOVE their wives!

I'm hardly uneducated. I graduated from high school with a 3.354 GPA and I took an administrative assistant course, which I passed with a 3.9 GPA.

If you take a good look at the last chapter of Proverbs you'll see what kind of wife a woman should be--and you'll see that it actually takes brains.

FEMINISM=IGNORANCE

Answer 10

My you have such a despressed view of life. Women's or no women's lib I prefer staying at home and doing all of the above. You have to choose what you want to do. Just make up your mind and do it.