Posted on 05/14/2004 6:56:16 AM PDT by qam1
London, May 13 (IANS) :
'What's mine is mine, and what's his is mine!' New research says this is the maxim of GenX women who want to be housewives who don't really work.
Young mothers are rejecting equality in the workplace and preferring the idea of becoming full-time housewives - but not ones who actually do housework.
This is the overall conclusion of research among 2,100 British adults that says women are happy to abandon the workplace but not if it means spending all day at home cooking, cleaning and looking after children.
Instead they want to play the "role" of housewife with a little help from, for instance, a nanny, and someone who does the ironing. Unlike Kylie Minogue, they don't want to do any dusting either.
The report, by Marian Salzman, chief strategic officer of Euro RSCG Worldwide, the world's fifth largest advertising agency, describes these women as princess-style "domestic divas" who effectively exploit their husbands.
"Today, 'women's lib' means wanting to be liberated from the intense pressures of the modern-day working mum," she said.
"And what we're seeing is a serious gender divide regarding women in the workplace. This time around, it is the women who want to stay at home and the men who want to keep them in the offices and factories."
Salzman, 45, who does not have children, is well known in the United States for spotting trends before they go mainstream. She predicted the rise of 1970s fashion nostalgia and, on the eve of the "Bridget Jones" phenomenon, spotted that single professional women would become the new, free-spending yuppies.
Her report last year, "the Future of Men", predicted that "metrosexuals" - straight men who care about fashion, food and grooming - would be the new target of advertisers.
She said 69 percent of women thought it perfectly acceptable for females to be housewives and not to earn a salary. In contrast, only 48 percent of men felt that women should remain outside paid employment.
Her research suggested that the motivation to spend more time at home was "self-centred" for some women. "There are many women who choose to stay home out of concern for their children's quality of life," she said. "But there are plenty of others who are paying lip service to being the 2004 version of the perfect mum.
"In reality they are domestic divas who want the flawless kids, courtesy of the nanny; a spotless home, thanks to a cleaning service; and a reputation for being a fabulously put-together homemaker.
"These are the women who are becoming a target of disdain and rage on the part of spouses who didn't expect to be shouldering the financial burden single-handedly."
She said she was not talking about mothers with very young children but those whose offspring were older and in full-time education.
Jill Kirby, the chairman of the family group at the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, said: "It's very clear that women who have the choice between working and being at home with their children still want to prioritise their home life and life with their children."
I will help with whatever I can help with...but I am not that great at computers either. Also, I noticed that I said in my earlier post that I would be home January through April. I will be working January through April. ( This pregnancy thing has made me lose my mind.)
No, read up on the article.
It's not women who are trying to stay home and be moms, but women who want to not work INCLUDING at home.
This jibes with many an occasion I've seen where the woman stays at home, but then wants a man who works 40-60 hours a week to share in the chores. What are they staying home for, if not to take care of the indoor tasks, at least?
BTW- FWIW- I am not at all like the above, and I am VERY alarmed for our generation, and even moreso for our kids!
I would disagree, It's been my observation of friends and family of my age range (Gen-x) and the responses of some of the mothers on the Xer Ping list that Gen-Xers make way better parents than the selfish me,me,me Baby Boomers who were too busy "Doing their own thing" to properly take care of their kids. I am just amazed and hopefully for the future when I see some of my friends who had utterly terrible uncaring parents are now themselves very loving and attentive parents.
Here some stats for the past ten years, You can how see things are improving as more and more Gen-Xers take over as being the parents of today's kids from the Me generation
From 1991-2001
violent crime rate has declined through this period, as well as The pregnancy rate for unmarried women has continuously declined through the 1990s and the abortion rate dropped by about 25 percent for both married and unmarried women through the 1990s , The teen Pregnancy Rate Reached a Record Low, More Teenagers are saying no to sex and Drug use by teenagers continues to decline.
Not sure what your point is... ?
"Sounds like Baby Boomer Feminist sour grapes over Gen-Xers who aren't following in their footsteps"
BINGO
I admire women like you, especially when they're raising their children in a Christian conservative way.
What you're doing is one of the most worthy things in the world.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Oh, I guess my point earlier was that it seems to be traditionally the man's role to provide the worldly goods for the woman, (whether she works outside the home or not), as it mentions in the vow from the old Book of Common Prayer.
I was reading Paul's advice to Timothy about roles for younger women. He recommends that they marry, have children, manage their homes and give the enemy no opportunity for slander. He also lauds older widows who have been faithful to their husbands and well knows for their good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints (useful when people wore sandals), helping those in trouble and devoting themselves to all kinds of good deeds.
It seems that a woman who does not work for pay outside the home might find a tremendously useful role for herself in her community. And it might be beneficial for 'society' at large, perhaps.
But I also compare this to the 'Proverbs 31' woman, who is virtuous and hard-working for profit for her family and to share with the needy. She trades and buys land and works with eager hands. But her first priority is taking good care of her family. (and servants).
The article is very unclear about what the women in the article are doing with their time. There's nothing wrong with outsourcing the dirty work if you can pay for it. That frees a woman up to spend more time with her children or on other projects that benefit the household. In my grandmother's day there was usually a hired girl about the place. Since there weren't that many jobs available to women, there wasn't a lack of good mother's helpers.
Agreed--I believe it is.
It seems that a woman who does not work for pay outside the home might find a tremendously useful role for herself in her community. And it might be beneficial for 'society' at large, perhaps.
Most definitely. Re. #82 (which is aimed specifically at childless couples), work can also mean volunteering in the community or at church or otherwise pursuing a worthy endeavor that gives of oneself.
But her first priority is taking good care of her family. (and servants).
There's nothing wrong with outsourcing the dirty work if you can pay for it. That frees a woman up to spend more time with her children or on other projects that benefit the household.
Agreed, again. :-)
Hola Princess Warrior!! Since you're asking... I agree with you. Our culture dictates that it will be as you have described. American 'men' are competing to see how metrosexual they can be while American women are in perpetual competition for slut of the month.
I've dated immigrant Mexican, Vietnamese, and Thai women with more sense than any Americanized 'indoctrinated' women here in So Cal. They get it. They haven't been bombarded with all the BS coming out of the media. Like the article said, 'What's mine is mine and what's his is mine' - What's my incentive to hook up with someone like that?
In general, American women have a chip on their shoulder and a sense of entitlement that I'm not willing to put up with. They demand a lot, but often have nothing to offer in return (except for sex, but I'm gettin' too old to fall for that again). I'm successful. I know how to manage money. That's MY job - OK. End of debate. Unless you've got a PHD in economics, forget about getting near it. She can live off a percentage of the interest - Ok? (If she's frugal) Our time on Earth is valuable - why can't I be a little bit fussy when it comes to selecting who I want to share my time with. Does that make me a barbarian? Maybe I think that I am entitled to have a little bit of control in my life.
Right now I've got me a hot sexy Mexican mama!! She understands me!! Could be serious!! She works hard (by choice), is successful, and we communicate well. It's a partnership and we both understand that.
PS - Sorry for the rant. Is that you firing those kick ass guns on your profile? I don't even know what that one is. All I ever shot was a 22 rifle and a few different shotguns, hunting squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants when I was growing up.
"he realities of human psychobiology do not change, simply because we wish things were different."
Maybe not, but unlike other animals and their psychobiology, you (as a human) are obviously CONSCIOUS of that "fact" - so why not learn how to deal w/it and squelch those baser tendencies?
You're telling me! Well they start out reasonably enough, but soon seems to turn into a woman-bashing fest to some extent.
I am a (true) single working woman, BTW. So I'm a little unbiased. ;-)
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