Some housewife acts all upset because someone dared to say the truth - she hasn't worked one day in her life.
“What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country saying: ‘Well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues. And when I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.' Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life.”
- Hilary Rosen
"To suggest that any mother has 'never worked a day in her life' is an affront to mothers everywhere," The Republican National Committee said.
"That's laughable. Moms absolutely have value. They work -- and work a lot."
- Aaron Gouevia, a content manager at Salary.com
Yes, I stand by that opinion. If you have been a stay-at-home mom your whole life, you haven't worked one day in your life.
Of course no-one is saying you just sit on the couch eating candy and watching television. You do things. Sure, if you would hire someone to do the job, you would need to pay quite a lot, but that isn't really the definition of "actually working". You do what you choose to do in the time frame you choose, how, when, where, with whom... everything you do you do for you.
You take care of YOUR home, YOUR children, YOUR husband, YOUR garden, YOUR food, YOUR hobbies, YOUR interests, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR... Just as you please.
Salary.com made a stupid calculation for Mother's Day...
An average SAHM says she works 14 hours a day, 7 days a week.
SAHMs claim to spend:
- 3 hours a week to work as the Chief Executive Officer.
Well... don't we all. Every person on this planet is planning and directing all aspects of an organization's (read: themselves) policies, objectives and initiatives, so we are all CEOs of our own lives and families.
- 4 hours a week to operate the laundry machine.
- 6 hours a week as a psychologist
I have to say that to work as a real psychologist you need a good education, and without that you are not worth the salary of a real psychologist.
But - these quacks assume dealing with the people you live with called "psychological warfare" (!?) is what psychologists do... Sure. I am really, really glad these SAHMs are not MY psychologists.
- 8 hours as janitors
an hour every day, cleaning... Girl, if you spend that much time cleaning, you're doing it wrong, which means that you obviously are not professional, and shouldn't be paid what professionals are paid.
- SAHMs say they spend 8 hours as drivers... Why? Not for anything important.
They are driving kids to school - though there are school buses... and those are awful... so let's not change the situation in the buses for the best of everyone, no, let's take the kid off the bus and drive the car. Also, a lot of SAHMs choose to homeschool their children...
Sports? That's hobbies. No-one is forced to do sports. Besides, get your kid a bicycle and let him/her get fit. Isn't that what the sports are supposed to do?
- 9 hours as computer operator.
Bull! More likely they are spending the time on Pinterest and Facebooks and blogs and chattering about.
- 11 hours as facilities manager. I really wonder how many SAHMs don't leave this to their husbands... But that's "managing their respective “staffs” and delegating authority in the form of chores for the kids and “Honey Do” lists for their partners". >:->
- 14 hours as daycare center teacher. Those people have an education too, at least here in Sweden. I have worked as a daycare center teacher and a nanny, and janitoring/cooking/managing facilities etc. was part of the job. I was alone responsible for the wellbeing of 8-12 children of 1-6 years of age, and I did that at the same time I cleaned, cooked etc. I had never any problems with riots or temper tantrums.
- An average SAHM says she spends 14 hours a week - 2 hours a day cooking... TWO HOURS!?!
- Not only does these SAHMS spend 1 hour a day as janitors and 1 1/2 hours managing facilities, they also spend 2 hours a day "housekeeping"... So, these lying bitches claim they spend 4 and half hours every day cleaning. Plus half an hour daily doing the laundry. FIVE HOURS A DAY!!! Sure. I believe that. NOT!
I'm sick and tired of these women whining about how "no-one appreciates the hard work they do", when in fact they are VERY PRIVILEGED to be able to choose this kind of lifestyle, and having practically done the job I know it's dang easy. I had plenty of free time to do things I wanted to do, and this is what the life seems to be like for these SAHMs. Just look at the blogs of the "prime samples" of this lot. They manage to create cards, organize parties, go hunting second hand treasures and renovate furnitures, they organize swaps and do all kinds of things. And whine about how horrible and hard it is to be a SAHM and NO-ONE appreciates and waah-waah-waah.
Every mother does the same job, working mothers do it more efficiently, because they cannot afford to spend hours and hours pottering with OCD mindset and scrub tiles with toothbrush.
4 comments:
I spend two hours cooking/preparing food every day, and I work full-time, so our meals are rather simple...
I would not go so far and say that SAHMs do not work. Of course they do. Of course those who are able to stay at home and take care of their children and home are privileged (in that they have got a "money provider" and do not have to find a job outside their homes), but still they are doing their share of the work load.
(The BF and I are sharing housework according to the time we spend outside of the house. If I were a SAHM, he would not have regular chores. As it is, he has got to do his share.)
Oh, and: I love working as a translator and writer. Does this mean I should not get paid for that, because it is "not real work"?
I can't even imagine what kind of food would take two hours to cook/prepare. Top most 15 minutes for simple meals like breakfast and lunch, 30 minutes for more complex meals, and I eat about 3 times every day - one hour.
Not even on Yule 2 hours are spend on preparing/cooking the dinner, and it's a big, complex dinner.
****I am not saying housework is not work, if by work you mean "effort directed to accomplish something", and neither is Hilary Rosen. But it most certainly is not work, when by work you mean employment, means of earning one's livelihood, which is what is meant in this context.****
You work as a translator and writer - if you write and translate things for yourself because you want to do that, if you write what you please, when you please, and don't write when not feeling like it, or what you don't feel like writing, then it's not work. That's what I do, and even though I put in a considerable amount of time and creative effort, it's not work.
If you translate for someone else, if you write what someone else asks you to write, then it's a work. If you sell your writing/translation work, then it's a work. Even if you employ yourself, it's a work, because you are selling a service or the results of your work.
It doesn't matter whether you like it or not, but for whom and why you do it. SAHMs are one of the most egocentric lots of people I know.
You don't need to agree, but so far I haven't heard anything that has given me a reason to re-evaluate my opinion.
Right on Ket!
You're so sweet :-)
I would like to remind people of that I have Asperger's, so my values of words might not be the same as the majority's. To me there's nothing wrong with being a SAHM, or egocentric. I believe we NEED to be egocentric, and the "selfless" idea is 100% BS.
I just happen to believe that a lot of people - especially SAHMs - are lying, refusing to accept the truth, getting offended by petty things like "oh, she said I haven't worked, and I work every day of my life, I work my butt off!" or "oh, she said I'm selfish, and I have sacrificed myself for my children and husband and everyone, boohoo" - and THAT is what I hate.
I would have chosen to be a SAHM if I could have.
Post a Comment