Homemakers


 * Make Me a Sandwich **

** Because of different cultures’ varying takes on a woman’s role in society, the definition of a homemaker is vague: “one who manages a home”. But all differences aside, every culture stemmed from similar patriarchal basis: the hunter-gatherer societies in the Paleolithic Period and the farming communities in the Neolithic Revolution. During the Neolithic Revolution of the early centuries, men were more fit to hunt as they were prone to compartmentalize and focus on one pursuit at a time. **
 * The popular perception of the obedient, multi-tasking, puts-family-first homemaker changed drastically over the century. Because of economic and societal changes, some homemakers come off as selfish, lazy, and pretentious, but in truth, many homemakers still hold the authentic efficient and selfless values. **
 * Women were originally accustomed to multi-tasking, having to raise children and provide for the family. Through hundreds of thousands of years, the way that women and men think have generally stayed the same. In fact, even occupation stereotypes reflect these psychological traits-- **** men are usually seen to hold the executive position in the office (98.5.% of chief executive officers in the leading world companies are men)* while women are usually the ones who take on jobs that require multi-tasking, such as being a secretary or a nurse. Women, compared to men, are much more suitable to be at home taking care of a multitude of miscellaneous tasks, such as taking care of children, preparing food, or running errands. However, to be an adequate homemaker, she must put her family first, be respectful to her husband, and be an efficient multi-tasker. **


 * An example of a homemaker is Martha Stewart, famous for her large corporation that produces **** cooking and craft supplies. She embraces her natural psychological advantage as a woman and provides products for other women who are the like, such as myself. **** Even though I do not have my own kids or have a home of my own, I would think myself to potentially be a homemaker. I love to organize things, color code, cook, and multi-task, and I would much rather distribute my attention to many small tasks throughout the day as opposed to drawing my all of my focus to one chief task. **


 * The homemaker has very polar reputations. Some may see homemakers as fostering and gentle, such as the image depicted in the General Electric dishwasher advertisement. **
 * Others believe that the image of a homemaker is really a façade that masks a woman's **** selfish motives. For example, in //Real Housewives of Vancouver//, Kiesel proudly declares her two divorces as her primary source of income. Evidently, there are a number of drastically contrasting views on the archetype; however, in truth, many of the characters that lead to negative interpretations of the archetype do not fit the criteria to be fully categorized as a homemaker.  **

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** Two common but contrasting negative portrayals of the homemaker are the lazy, unproductive mother and the conniving woman with ulterior selfish motives. The media often brands homemakers as petty and having mixed up values. As described by an article from the //New York Magazine// comparing working and nonworking mothers, “Nonworking mothers are much more judgemental of working mothers than vice versa.... Nonworking mothers assume they’re better mothers because they’ve made the choice to stay home.” Stay-at-home mothers are seen obsessed with feeling better about themselves, whether it is through the number of hours they volunteer or through their children. Instead of genuinely wanting to support their children at school, these ‘homemakers’ use volunteer work as an opportunity to make them feel better about themselves, which contradicts with a crucial point of the homemaker criteria: putting family first. ** media type="youtube" key="ABzMAuI1vj0" height="283" width="504" align="left"
 * Similarly, in a clip of //Toddlers and Tiaras// entitled “Worst Mom of the Year,” a mother is shown giving her six year old girl “go-go juice,” an energy drink consisting of Mountain Dew soda and Red Bull energy drink. This particular episode distressed many people and stirred them to question whether the energy drink was beneficial, even suitable, for such a young child. This ‘homemaker’, also driven by her selfish desires to win the pageant, does not fulfill the criteria. Another negative depiction of the homemaker is the harsh and boorish view. In the book written by Amy Chua, Chua describes her experiences of raising her children “the Chinese way,” a strict and oppressive take on parenting. She makes the infamous claim, “Nothing is fun until you’re good at it.” Likewise, in the fairy tale Cinderella by the Brothers Grimm, Cinderella’s stepmother forces her daughters to cut off portions of their feet in order to fit in the slipper and marry the prince. These two mothers’ actions might have been out of good intentions for their children in the long run, but they are extremely harsh approaches nonetheless. These examples are from different time periods and cultures, but many of them have strayed too far from genuine homemaker values to still be accurately categorized as a homemaker. Because of the bitterness shown toward their own children, these characters do not fit the archetype criteria. **


 * On the other hand, a small number of present-day homemakers are portrayed positively. When classifying with the criteria in mind, homemakers are seen selfless in their acts toward their family. For instance, in //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows//, Mrs.Weasley **
 * says, “You - will - never - touch - our - children - again!” and **** kills Bellatrix, the woman who killed one of her children. Furthermore, in the article “Choosing to Stay at Home,” Brenda Lane says that “the work of changing diapers, doing laundry and managing a household, is certainly not revered by most people today.” Lane suggests that many of the selfless acts that homemakers do are behind-the-scenes. The small differences that homemakers create in the seemingly insufficient tasks they take up become buried in the negative misconceptions. **


 * As societies change over time, so do the perceptions of archetypes. Society as a whole has become less centered around industrial jobs and more towards office jobs simply because of the advances in technology. Many of the negative perceptions of homemakers stem from the media and the changing social patterns. Homemakers used to be seen as the anchor of the family, but they have begun to lose their meaning. As technology pervades through homes and offices, many small cyclical jobs have become vestigial. In result, feminist movements have been initiated, calling for equal working wages and rights for women outside of the house. Nevertheless, homemakers have had a significant impact in society through history and culture, changing the views of women throughout time. **

**--Su Fang**

** Works Cited: **

 * Chua, Amy. //Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother//. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print. **


 * Gardner Jr., Ralph. "Mom vs. Mom." //New York Magazine// 21 Oct. 2002. Web. 3 May 2012. . **


 * Ibarra, Herminia, and Morten T. Hansen. "HBR Blog Network." //Harvard Business Review//. 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 May 2012. < http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2009/12/women_ceo_why_so_few.html>. **


 * General Electronic. //1956 General Electric Diswasher//. Digital image. Web. 3 May 2012. . **


 * Grimm, Jacob, Wilhelm Grimm, Otto S. Svend, and Anne Rogers. //Cinderella//. New York: Larousse &, 1978. Print. **


 * Lane, Brenda. "Choosing to Stay at Home." //Suite101.com//. 19 Apr. 2007. Web. 03 May 2012. < http://brendalane.suite101.com/choosing-to-stay-at-home-a18996>. **


 * //The Real Housewives of Vancouver - On Themselves. YouTube.// YouTube, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . **


 * Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPré. //Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows//. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print. **


 * Simon PhD, Dr. George. "Ask the Psychologist." //AskThePsych.com.// 8 July 2009. Web. 13 May 2012. < http://askthepsych.com/atp/2009/07/08/men-and-women-the-real-psychological-differences/>. **


 * "Why Women Should Work." //Careerbright.// Web. 12 Apr. 2012. . **


 * "Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations in U.S. and Canada : Catalyst."//Women in Male-Dominated Industries and Occupations in U.S. and Canada : Catalyst.// 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. < http://www.catalyst.org/publication/381/women-in-male-dominated-industries-and-occupations-in-us-and-canada>. **


 * //Worst Mom of the Year Toddlers And Tiaras Star Alana Holler for a Dollar. YouTube.// YouTube, 8 Jan. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 12. < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABzMAuI1vj0>. **

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