Now that Mother's Day is over, I can get back to being a bit cranky on the feminist issues. That’s because the in-vogue contemporary liberal feminism has little to do with motherhood. Despite lip service oblation offered up to the stay-at-home ladies, the feminist movement remains largely anti homemaker, with a good measure of male bashing. 
One of the bromides given to the home bound moms is and “accounting” of the commercial value of their household duties. According to this year’s public relations gimmick-imitating-research, the average homemaker should be earning $117,000 a year based on the commercial value of various services.
They price out categories of work, such as baby sitter, cook, laundress, nurse, etc. Of course the whole analysis is as ridiculous as puff articles claiming to list the sexiest women in the world. (Although, I find the latter a much more interesting gimmick-imitating-research). The whole feminist analysis falls on the free market reality that one can hire a person to do ALL the aforementioned services every day for about $25,000 per year.
I am not unfamiliar with the duties of the homemaker. For several years, I was Mr. Mom to five children. I cooked. I cleaned. I bandaged. Even now, after my wife goes off to her full-time job, I remain home to handle my consulting business and a good share of the household duties.
In these modern times, the drudgery of homemaking is gone. The success of soap operas, female subject talk shows, and bridge clubs give evidence that the stay-at-home mom has some significant personal time. Certain mothers, like fathers, have to be “on duty” 24/7, but that does not mean they are actively engaged in the “work.” Parenting is more like being a fireman. There is ample time to play poker between blazes,
If you want to play the same silly game on the other side of the coin, have you recently hired a plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, security guard or any other commercial handyman? Put that on the comparable income for dad, and you can see just how ridiculous all this really is.
Personally, I think the work of a homemaker is priceless. I was raised by one.
One of the bromides given to the home bound moms is and “accounting” of the commercial value of their household duties. According to this year’s public relations gimmick-imitating-research, the average homemaker should be earning $117,000 a year based on the commercial value of various services.
They price out categories of work, such as baby sitter, cook, laundress, nurse, etc. Of course the whole analysis is as ridiculous as puff articles claiming to list the sexiest women in the world. (Although, I find the latter a much more interesting gimmick-imitating-research). The whole feminist analysis falls on the free market reality that one can hire a person to do ALL the aforementioned services every day for about $25,000 per year.
I am not unfamiliar with the duties of the homemaker. For several years, I was Mr. Mom to five children. I cooked. I cleaned. I bandaged. Even now, after my wife goes off to her full-time job, I remain home to handle my consulting business and a good share of the household duties.
In these modern times, the drudgery of homemaking is gone. The success of soap operas, female subject talk shows, and bridge clubs give evidence that the stay-at-home mom has some significant personal time. Certain mothers, like fathers, have to be “on duty” 24/7, but that does not mean they are actively engaged in the “work.” Parenting is more like being a fireman. There is ample time to play poker between blazes,
If you want to play the same silly game on the other side of the coin, have you recently hired a plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, security guard or any other commercial handyman? Put that on the comparable income for dad, and you can see just how ridiculous all this really is.
Personally, I think the work of a homemaker is priceless. I was raised by one.
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