Is 'Housewife' an occupation?

Ok, well a lot of women certainly look down on SAHMs, and that's certainly more demanding in most cases than being a childless housewife.

I do think occupation means paid.

I live in a world where people have to pay tax for education, health, roads, etc. Everyone uses these services so everyone should help to pay for it if they can.

I understand caring for children, being retired (you've done your stint) so significantly disabled you can't work (as of course many people who are disabled do still work) but I don't appreciate simply allowing your partner to pay tax on your behalf and not working when you can.

I'm sure capitalism and communism both want everyone of a certain adult age to undertake paid (so they pay taxes) work if they can.

Of course many professional women look down on 'housewives

Of course there are, but the unfortunate truth is that many professional women (and men) also look down on the people who clean their office - it doesn't mean that that isn't a job. It tells you more about the people looking down than the people being looked down on.

Of course many professional women look down on 'housewives

Maybe, but I'd guess there are many professional men who look down on men performing similar roles (whether paid or not).

Don't confuse women who look down on other women with any sort of feminist (which is something blokes who pontificate on FWR seem to manage with tedious regularity).

We just do it faster

Nah i dont reckon...im well fast at housework

Get the stupid sodding stuff done as quickly as humanly possible

So you want women who are at home with kids etc, when asked occupation, to say none. OK that's 1 person at least who has offered an alternative.

Isn't it interesting as well that occupation is taken to mean paid. Rather than the more general, what occupies your time. Same as work, according to lots on mn, means paid work, not other stuff like mending your shed, looking after kids etc.

Capitalism really has done a number on us!

Her occupation is "none".

If however, she is to be described as a housewife then when I go on Mastermind, I shall say I'm a lawyer and a housewife. Because I do both. Lawyer full-time, housewife part-time (as my DH does househusband part-time too).

Contribute to society and my own.

I don't want my cleaning and household chores, home admin to go unnoticed.

@minesagin37 Good to know I could help.

Also you don't think midwives should be called midwives as it might put men off

Even though midwife means 'with woman'

Also interesting.

So you accept that birth outcomes for both mother and baby may not be so good with Male attendants

But want to encourage them to become midwives anyway

Interesting.

@Lamahaha thanks for pointing that out! I hadn't realised ( she said sarcastically)!

@5zeds you don't know what a housewife does!!

I think you're forgetting the ton of women who go out work and then do all that stuff on top! We just do it faster and don't talk about it as much!

@minesagin A midwife plays a totally different role to a doctor. Her role is as emotional as it is medical. She is there to encouage you, hole your hand, rejoice with you, simply connect with you on an emotional and deeply intimite way during an extremely stressful and challenging few hours of your life. This role is not required of an ob/gyn.
I truly cannot imagine a man, however gentle and kind, going through that with me. Apart from my husband.

No one said its not OK

The question is whether women want them
Whether they would be as effective (think I've read stuff about women being more relaxed with women attending which leads to better outcomes).

I would think a lot of women would prefer female gynaes etc as well tbh. Not saying men shouldn't do it.

I expect a lot of men prefer a man for their prostate/ dick n balls stuff as well.

@Lamahaha so it's ok to have male obstetricians and gynaecologists but not male midwives!!

Like getting rid of the term 'midwife'. That may also attract more men into that area!

Why would women want to attract more men as midwives? The mind boggles. If there's one job which seems essential that a woman should do, then this.
(Yes, I've heard that there are some excellent male midwives and some lousy female ones, but still...)

I have a good friend who is a "lady of leisure". She is an accountant and counselor by education, and extremely intelligent, but has hardly ever worked throughout her life. She raised three children as a SAHM. Her husband is a top-earning accountant and she has travelled the world with him. They have lived in Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the last 20 years, and in that time she has never "worked". She always lives in fabulous houses/villas, but cleans them herself and is also a fabulous cook, who takes time to prepare wonderful meals which she learned from her mother. She is ethnic Indian (but British), her husband is English, and they both live a seemingly enviable lifestyle -- though with a massive carbon footprint, as she travels a lot visiting her 3 kids who live in various countries, continents, and also for fabulous holidays in Mauritious, Bali etc. As a hobby, she sometimes quilts.

She has never once regretted not having a career, and yes, she's lucky and knows it, but she also has absolutely no sense of being inferior to a career woman or bored at home. Her husband is the most adoring husband I've ever met, and as they now retire back in England I expect the "Lady of Leisure" thing will continue.

She too calls herself a houswife.

The thing I do feel really grateful for is that I have choices, and that I have work that is both interesting and where I'm senior enough to have some autonomy, and that other factors in my life (primarily a husband who is an actual equal parent) make working easier for me. I think that's where some women can fail to understand how the reality of other people's lives mean that we're not all making decisions on an equal basis - I've been guilty in the past of assuming that everyone could work if they wanted to, and I've also seen other women assume the opposite. One reason not to judge other people's choices (other than it just generally not being good karma!) is that they understand all the factors that went into that decision and you don't.

Lisa I'm in same boat and agree.

Far away and long ago we used to call such individuals "domestic engineers".

As a mother who WOH full-time I neither look down nor envy housewives. I guess I sometimes feel guilt that, unlike every other mother of young children I know, I don't want to be at home with them full-time, but I don't. But nor does that mean I don't see why other people do.

I think it is pretty indisputable that not working and not having dependents is a less stressful life than either employment or care-giving. I don't really see why that means people should be derided for doing it, though? Early retirement is also easier than working, but people who do that don't seem to be judged?

'Of course many professional women look down on 'housewives'

???

Of course?
That's a massive assumption. I don't think it's true.

I think lots of men and women would love to have more time at home / not working.

I think status is a relative thing.

Of course many professional women look down on 'housewives' but do you really think the wealthy housewife of a stockbroker is viewed as lower status than the woman who serves her coffee when she pulls up in her Range Rover, clad in Boden?

So what would you have women who are at home for whatever reason call themselves then?

Hmm, really shitty reply there. Considering I was up at 7am, have cleaned the house top to bottom, cook every night and also look after my son 90% of the week (he's only in childcare 8 hours a week).

I work 18 hours a week, 8 of those while he's at playgroup and the other 10 when my husband is home from his 6-2 job. I'm pretty sure I know what a housewife does! Just because someone doesn't work, they do more around the house than I do? Give me a break. I don't have a cleaner, a cook, nothing. Me and DH have to do it all as well as working!

So pipe down. I have every idea of what a housewife does and no, I wouldn't be defined as one or use it as an occupation because everyone on the planet has to clean, cook, raise their children, working or not unless they have hired help and they don't say I'm an accountant and a housewife do they?

It's not an occupation, end of story. It doesn't mean anyone that stays at home to raise kids or don't work because they don't have to should get any less respect than anyone else though. And I wouldn't want to be 50 odd relying on my husband to support me. It would never ever happen!

Perhaps the reason you don’t know what you’d do if you reached 50 and were a housewife is because you don’t know what a housewife does? If you reach the age of 50 and are still defined by the time you sell to your employers rather than who you are, then I would imagine that you were utterly unsuited to being anything but someone else’s paid employee. I obviously would look around and see if I could adjust my thinking because your worthiness scale seems way off beam, but then I’m an extremely successful pushing fifty housewife