Is 'Housewife' an occupation?

[Soontobe60]

First contestant on Mastermind tonight has given her occupation as housewife. Does that mean she is employed by her husband? She looks too old to have children that need looking after, and if she had an adult disabled child then her occupation would be carer.
Surely in this day and age no one claims that their occupation is housewife?

minesagin37 - i think a lot of women do though. Some have partners that share, some pay for assisance and some do two roles. I find the obsession with being busy and doing it all as a morally superiour position a bit odd. I'm not sure life was supposed to be that hard.

The insurance guy looked at me like im insane and said "youre a housewife then! Thats not nothing! Its a very important role."

Jeleste's insurance guy is right. "Just" looking after the kids my arse. I couldn't face having fhem at all, that's how hard the job of Mum is.

I’m a housewife, does sound a bit old fashioned but what else fits the bill.

The biggest difference between working and staying home for me was not that necessary stuff like making sure that there was food for meals, but the food tended to be planned and thought out more, sorted my email inbox, take my kids to more groups/outings. More energy to do things with the kids. Not ‘necessary’ things but nice add ons. DH and I think it was worth me taking time out of work for that just like we think it benefits our kids to do some activities, music etc. DH and I value it as a job. Maybe other people don’t think these things are that valuable, but you can still appreciate that for some people it is...

I dont see a problem with housewife, soem houses and households have lots of work to be done

It's a gendered term 'housewife'. Let's not perpetuate it. There's work to be done inside and outside the home. Men can do it too. Getting rid of the term 'housewife' will help. Like getting rid of the term 'midwife'. That may also attract more men into that area!

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz . It's just a set of jobs/ tasks. Fix the car, make sure child has uniform, clean cooker. There's nothing special that needs to be done by 'the house wife'. A bloke could also do it. If some people choose not to go out to work. Absolutely fine but let's not pretend it's something it isn't!

Men can do it too. Getting rid of the term 'housewife' will help. Like getting rid of the term 'midwife'. That may also attract more men into that area! I can honestly say that I have no need to avoid sex based terms and househusband/wife seem perfectly serviceable. I’m fairly ambivalent about encouraging men to be midwives. Why would you imagine women would want that?

Nobody suggested a man couldn’t do the work of a housewife. We call this role a house husband, because obviously to be a wife you have to be female.

I'm a housewife with secondary age kids and this thread is making me feel a little lazy.
I certainly haven't cared for elderly relatives, sat on children's panels, volunteered or any of the stuff Arnold mentioned on page 4
(Bit confused by the parkrun volunteering too, it's a weekend activity and very much equal split male:female).
I don't even do all the mental load, because DH does much of the financial stuff and holiday planning.

deydododatdodontdeydo

I mentioned park run, and everything else, because they are things housewives of my own acquaintance do beyond the obvious tasks of homemaking and childrearing.

It wasn't intended to be an exhaustive list, nor a list of things only women or those not in paid employment can do but a list to illustrate how very often those who aren't in paid employment are the glue of society precisely because their time is not largely taken up by work. I could write a similar list of things retirees I happen to know do which would equally illustrate how people not in paid employment make a significant contribution.

I just feel society places too little value on people who aren't earning money and forget the myriad other things that go into making the world a nicer place for us all.

Our list of jobs at work has housewife, househusband and houseperson.

Also home maker I think.

Still haven't seen a decent alternative suggested.

Still think that whatever its called it will be undervalued and debated and women will have to justify their lives to all and sundry. Because, Capitalism + misogyny.

No ones dressing it up or calling it something it isn't but it's a way someone spends their day so we're discussing what to call it.

I'm not working right now so tend to just state that if asked but i appreciate others may prefer to describe it differently. Horses for courses and all

minesagin37 "Midwife" means "with woman", it's a description of the role of being with a woman as she gives birth.

It’s up to her how she describes herself. Women need to stop judging each other

@bd67th I was forgetting that. Mind boggling at rebranding with-woman, so as not to mention women in case it puts men off doing that job. .

Yes being a Housewife is an occupation

It's not an occupation or a job. Lots of people work full time and part time and still do all the roles of 'housewife or househusband' such as cleaning, cooking, looking after the kids and everything else. You'd be a stay at home mum or dad or parent if your kids are young like under 16/18 but I don't know what you'd call someone that has grown kids and no job, doesn't volunteer or do anything really.

Obviously people that have retired say 'I'm a retired teacher' for example.

I don't know what I'd do if I got to 50 odd and had to describe my occupation as housewife! I would perhaps look around and see if there was somewhere I could put my time to for even a couple of hours a week so I at least had something and wasn't defined at someone who's job is keeping a house as it's not a job, it's part of life

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

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!

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

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?

'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.

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?

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

Lisa I'm in same boat and agree.