Can you be a feminist housewife?

Um, I said I didn't want state payment.

And all the housewives I know make a valuable contribution to the community in general, as I've outlined above.

But they're not economically inactive.

Our economy is built on their unpaid labour.

Slaves would have been been defined as economically inactive as well, because they were unpaid.

But capitalism was built on their unpaid labour.

i agree housewife can makes valuable contribution to her individual family.hence the specifics of payment etc is a private individual act between partners.by all means discuss with your partner.but no dont expect state payment for being economically inactive.

And many housewife may not be economically active but they are very socially active within their families and communities. And thank god they are otherwise we'd have to pay for carers and volunteers and school helpers etc etc etc.

Oh, and I have been a feminist for as long as I can remember.
I don't need or seek judgement or praise from ANYONE. If you need external approval, then you need to take a long hard look at yourself.

really lenin,has your i dont know stance changed then

Yes, if some SAHMs reading this just take from it that what they are doing isn't economically inactive, it is enabling their partners to be economically active, then that in itself is worthwhile.

Women don't recognise the value of the unpaid work they do because the patriarchy has defined it as worthless unless it's paid for. If we keep banging on about it, lots more women will recognise it as worthwhile and that alone is a good thing.

being judged by clients is an external check and balance.external approbation.thats what work is.ability to command A fee/salary and sell your skills

whereas housewifery is individual act,not usually judged by anyone other than partner.and not paid a salary

I think I must be the only housewife on MN in existance that 1) Is happy to be called a housewife 2) doesn't want to be paid 3) can't think of anything worse than DH earning less, expecting me to work and sharing MY jobs 50:50!

wigglybeezer - I love being judged by my clients and my clients alone and not having to fit in with ludicrous institutional frameworks . You can actually add value as opposed to tick boxes...

bonsoir.congratulations on your job

anti-slavery movement caught a burgeoning moral mood and support,and fought for it agitating politically and a civil war

there is no such groundswell of support,or burgeoning feeling of yes pay the housewife,its morally right

No, scottishmummy, nothing like that! It's something I've been doing for several years now (seasonal PT work, albeit of the intellectual variety) and there are no external constraints - I am the one that sets the agenda with the client. I think you have very little experience of working independently!

People once advanced huge numbers of arguments about why abolishing slavery was an an economic impossibility.

They were not being irrational, and people who disagreed were being idealistic, but nevertheless it happened, and now we look back and are horrified at what people did in the name of profit.

bonsoir your new job will presumably get feedback about your communication,and customer satisfaction rates, and expect tasks in a certain time frame or house style.all of that is external regulation. the organisation has a set of specifics which it clearly feels you can deliver

congratulations on your new post

Can I ask a question? I wonder there are 2 different problems here. On one hand we are saying that society needs to recognise and value SAHP. I agree. However, does that have to immediately lead to a requirement that society pays the SAHP to do this work? Can it not value the action, legislate for the role to be recompensed in divorce proceedings and promoted as a positive choice whilst also saying that it will not pay the SAHP itself? Because after all this is a choice usually made by a couple, and so surely it should be the couple as a unit who ensure that the SAHP is properly recompensed for his or her work?
Alternatively society could take other steps to promote SAHP, by trying to ensure that it is a choice that more men make, eg by encouraging parents to share maternity/paternity leave, ensuring that equal pay legislation is adhered to and women are not discriminated against in employment etc. If we had equal numbers of SAH fathers then at that stage would it cease to be a feminist issue?

its untenable.in middle of recession to pay housewifes
there no money
and its an individual choice- sahm and partner can negotiate this individually if required.not the state role to pay

congrats on the new job Bonsoir

I got a job today which I regularly get entirely based on satisfied customer recommendations - absolutely no external standards exist for it where I live and there is no possible way of regulating it. Not all jobs are in faceless bureaucracies (yet) (thank God).

they could chrge the childrens father SM, 50% the going rate.

full circle?

I agree with Claig and SM. The state are pretty broke. And why would they pay for looking after your own children?