Hi, I'd like to ask a question about American culture. I'm now analyzing a notion "American housewife," so what is its modern understanding in the light of changing gender roles? How is it perceived by the American mind: positively or negatively (prestige, social status)?
Additionally, I will highly appreciate if Americans could give me some verbal associations (of any grammatical class) which the word-combination "American housewife" provokes.
Thank you!

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kraemder

16 nov 2013

Respuesta destacada

Inglés (US)

Probably not the sort of the response you're looking for but I think.. damn.. I wish I could get a 'job' where I hang out at home all day and just what I want. I know house wives with kids are really busy but still. Not all house wives even have kids.... grr..

In terms of social status I guess I'd automatically associate her status with her husband's. So if her husband were wealthy and they lived in a large house etc., then I'd think of her as upper class and above me socially - I don't earn that much money.

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kraemder

16 nov 2013

Inglés (US)

Probably not the sort of the response you're looking for but I think.. damn.. I wish I could get a 'job' where I hang out at home all day and just what I want. I know house wives with kids are really busy but still. Not all house wives even have kids.... grr..

In terms of social status I guess I'd automatically associate her status with her husband's. So if her husband were wealthy and they lived in a large house etc., then I'd think of her as upper class and above me socially - I don't earn that much money.

tatyana

16 nov 2013

Ruso

Thank you! That's exactly what I need: job - enjoying herself at home doing nothing special, status - depends on her husband (in all senses), variety of types - with kids, without kids, upper class, lower class etc., attitude - rather negative (ironic? sceptical? condescending?) Did I get you allright? ))

kraemder

16 nov 2013

Inglés (US)

hmm jealous is more the word I was thinking of. Not really condescending. Unless she is the type to complain a lot but I don't hear that from women who are actually married really. More from women who are divorced (then I hear non-stop complaining... ). This is a generalization. Anytime I meet anyone I am making judgements based on all sorts of things including their job they do for a living. The way they dress, their opinions, their hobbies, their spouse, where they live.

You got me thinking though. In terms of social status I guess I would put the house wife a little lower than her husband. But not a lot. And if she gave up a high level career to be a mom then I'd think of them as equal.

tatyana

16 nov 2013

Ruso

In my country (I'm Russian living in Kazakhstan) this notion underwent a certain transformation. Formely, housewifes were treated as family value keepers, they were respected as moms and wifes. Women with careers were percieved as "losers" who couldn't marry and have children - to have children outside marriage was unacceptable. Now when practically all women have jobs and combine social and family functions (and how they manage to do that is another question!!!) being just a housewife causes people' contemptuous attitude. Society judges one by his/her job/profession. A typical image of a housewife is a stout middle-aged woman in an old dressing-gown who doesn't look after herself, mad about her kids, engaged in constant cooking and cleaning, asexual, not interesting for her husband. This ia a generalization of course, as you say but... I saw Desperate Housewifes on TV, to what extent do you think it true to life? Those types I mean - "apple-pie oredr" Bri, "a beautiful expensive toy" Gabi, "always exhausted former smb and now a housemaid" (forgot her name - a woman with 4 kids) and a divorced frelancer Suzy... hm find it difficult to define her type... probably "always complaining (as you said), and blaiming her ex-husband for everuthing that is going wrong with her" That's it! What do you think?