Five years ago the people of Ireland voted, through a referendum, to allow some legal abortions. The procedure is still not as easily available as its proponents would like, but there is more to women’s rights than abortion rights. Take the issue of liberating women from the obligation to make homes. The advent of second wave feminism saw a general revulsion about the role of housewife. Women read Betty Friedan and threw off the shackles that bound them to their stoves and their laundries.
Think of the differences since the 1960s Feminine Mystique:
- Women can work at any job they qualify for. No more institutional laws/rules keeping them out.
- Women can keep their own credit, buy a car or a house without a husband (whether because she doesn't have a husband, or because she chooses to keep her money separate). I have bought cars and a house on my own, despite being married for many years. It was easier, as he was in another state (waiting for the paperwork to retire to make its way through the system).
- Women control MOST of the family's financial decisions. That's for two reasons - many women bring in a significant part of the family's income. And, less wonderfully, no one wants to have to be the person doing the shopping, bill paying, and other tedious activities.
- Women can choose to have a child - or not. And, that doesn't depend on their marital status.
- Women can choose to marry - or not.
- Women can still choose to become a housewife. Most men who choose Stay at Home spouse are criticized. No such detriment for the women.
Work for women at home has lessened to the point of almost disappearing.
No longer is washing the family's clothing a full-day job of drudgery. With automatic washers and dryers readily available, and most clothing being nearly wrinkle-free, it's a breeze to manage - and, by 5-8, most kids can handle their own laundry.
Cleaning a house, with not only vacuum cleaners and Roomba's, not to mention lightweight floor moppers that are disposable, is a quick job.
Most food that comes into the house is pre-cut, packaged for quick cooking, and easy to clean up after (dishwashers, a relative rarity when I was young, are common in homes). Think of it - garbage disposals throwaway paper towels, plastic wraps/containers/ziplock bags - out with the waste, quick put away for the leftovers - which, when reheated in the microwave, will not dirty another dish.
Cheap styro plates! Uber Eats! Fast food for pickup or delivery!
Online shopping! Groceries selected by an unseen minion, and dropped off at your waiting car!
Disposable diapers! Wipes for the messy children (OK, and some messy adults)!
A quick trip to an urgent care center for a sick family member! No waiting, and for only a small amount over the old family doctor's visit!
Appliances and cars that tell you when they're in need of service, and often identifying the problem!
To be a trad wife and mother is never completely easy, but it's a WHOLE lot better than when my mother was young (for that matter, paper diapers were just starting to be widely available, and they leaked like a son-of-a-gun).
Couple that with online assistance to make the job of educating yourself and the kids a snap, machinery that cuts lawn care to a fraction of what it was, and it truly is a tremendous time to be a woman.
Think of the differences since the 1960s Feminine Mystique:
- Women can work at any job they qualify for. No more institutional laws/rules keeping them out.
- Women can keep their own credit, buy a car or a house without a husband (whether because she doesn't have a husband, or because she chooses to keep her money separate). I have bought cars and a house on my own, despite being married for many years. It was easier, as he was in another state (waiting for the paperwork to retire to make its way through the system).
- Women control MOST of the family's financial decisions. That's for two reasons - many women bring in a significant part of the family's income. And, less wonderfully, no one wants to have to be the person doing the shopping, bill paying, and other tedious activities.
- Women can choose to have a child - or not. And, that doesn't depend on their marital status.
- Women can choose to marry - or not.
- Women can still choose to become a housewife. Most men who choose Stay at Home spouse are criticized. No such detriment for the women.
Work for women at home has lessened to the point of almost disappearing.
No longer is washing the family's clothing a full-day job of drudgery. With automatic washers and dryers readily available, and most clothing being nearly wrinkle-free, it's a breeze to manage - and, by 5-8, most kids can handle their own laundry.
Cleaning a house, with not only vacuum cleaners and Roomba's, not to mention lightweight floor moppers that are disposable, is a quick job.
Most food that comes into the house is pre-cut, packaged for quick cooking, and easy to clean up after (dishwashers, a relative rarity when I was young, are common in homes). Think of it - garbage disposals throwaway paper towels, plastic wraps/containers/ziplock bags - out with the waste, quick put away for the leftovers - which, when reheated in the microwave, will not dirty another dish.
Cheap styro plates! Uber Eats! Fast food for pickup or delivery!
Online shopping! Groceries selected by an unseen minion, and dropped off at your waiting car!
Disposable diapers! Wipes for the messy children (OK, and some messy adults)!
A quick trip to an urgent care center for a sick family member! No waiting, and for only a small amount over the old family doctor's visit!
Appliances and cars that tell you when they're in need of service, and often identifying the problem!
To be a trad wife and mother is never completely easy, but it's a WHOLE lot better than when my mother was young (for that matter, paper diapers were just starting to be widely available, and they leaked like a son-of-a-gun).
Couple that with online assistance to make the job of educating yourself and the kids a snap, machinery that cuts lawn care to a fraction of what it was, and it truly is a tremendous time to be a woman.