Do housewives still exist?

[Mumteedum]

Had a funny moment in the supermarket this week where a lady was grumbling about something and we had a little small talk about how busy it is at Xmas and supermarket moving things so you can't find stuff. She referred to 'harassed housewives ' and I said 'yes and non housewives too'. She sort of apologised but I hadn't meant it to be as if I'd taken offense so made a joke of it all and all nice and fine, the end.

But it just felt like a word from another era. I remember mum saying she was a housewife. Are there any housewives these days?

I found it really odd that the lady would assume anyone was a housewife these days.

I don't expect she meant Housewives really, just used it interchangeably with harassed women, as let's face it Christmas is largely a female stress and the mental load, regardless of whether you work or not falls to the female of the species.

I’ve noticed this too and I think people say SAHM these days instead of housewife.

I am a housewife technically and am listed as such on our car insurance. I wouldn't describe myself as that if someone asked me what I did though. I just say I don't have paid employment but do quite a bit of voluntary work.

Yes, you're probably right. I hadn't thought of that.

I’m a housewife! Mainly because no bugger will give me a job after ten years of staying at home with autistic kids.

Quite a few years ago I was on an insurance quotation call and the woman asked me my work situation. I said SAHM and she corrected me to housewife! I was a bit annoyed but let it go!

From the dictionary definition, I’d say a lot of women are still housewives, yes! And a bloody hard job it is, too.

A housewife is a woman whose primary role is managing her household. This typically includes responsibilities such as:
• Caring for the home: Cleaning, organizing, and maintaining a comfortable living space.
• Cooking and meal preparation: Planning and preparing meals for the family.
• Family management: Taking care of children, scheduling activities, and supporting family members’ needs.
• Budgeting: Managing household finances, paying bills, and shopping for groceries and other necessities.

Well, you also used the word 'lady', I'm certainly no lady😁

I haven't worked since 2009 other than doing some volunteering for a few years , and I'm still a few years from retirement .

At work I use housewife for women of a certain age who don’t do paid work outside the house.
Full time parent for those who don’t have a paid job but have children who still need looking after.
Home duties for unmarried parents who don’t have dependant children.
Also lots of parents now use the term carer. I think this is where they don’t work outside the home but receive carers allowance.
Either way I always let them suggest the title. Apart from housewife which I can’t use if they are not a wife!
I see very few males who would describe themselves as a househusband. Most non working males use say they are either unemployed or a carer.
Lots of older men will say things such as ‘She never worked.’ Which annoys me as as housework and parenting is damn hard.

I'm a housewife. I'm not sure how many housewives there are though, I've never met another one on real life. I think some people still use housewife in place of stay at home mum though.

I had this when i was doing my renewal the woman on the call said "are you still a housewife" my reply was well I'm not married and its not 1940. I went elsewhere.

I have a friend who is very much a housewife - not sure she'd appreciate being called that. It's very much her job to look after the home and her husband at home. She's happy as she likes being at home (oh and playing tennis and being involved in the community), he's happy as he has no housework, shopping, ironing, even washing up to do.

I'm "homemaker" on my marriage certificate. I couldn't put housewife because I wasn't a wife when the information is filled out 😂😂😂

How do you pronounce that?

I actually hate the term SAHM. It implies that I don’t stay at home? Where do I go? I must run away and leave looking after my kids to some one else 😂

House wife - ‘her in doors’ 😆

Why can’t we just say wives & mothers. Why do we need a descriptor of how we do it?

So in essence, all the stuff that most women do whilst also holding down a job.

‘Housewife’ tends to get used on here by the minority of non-working mothers of older or adult children (ie, who aren’t stay at home for childcare reasons), or those who don’t work and don’t have children.

I work so little now that keeping the plates spinning at home probably takes up more of my time. And that's the way, disasters not withstanding, I intend to keep it.

Are you always so reactionary to a normal question?
Still aka same as before.
Housewife as in the closest definition on her list.

Because a descriptor that defines women in terms of their marital status is sexist and reactionary.