Author Archives: Aaliyah Hinckson

Aaliyah’s Personal Reflection

Throughout this class, I have learned a lot. I expected this class to be engaging, but I was surprised to know about how much I looked forward to this class. I enjoyed learning the different topics in class such as gender myths, black liberation, and feminism and trans liberation. I was able to learn a lot about the gender, such as women were told to be “household wives”, while the men went out and worked. I enjoyed reading the books, “Women. Race, and Class” by Angela Davis and “Transgender History” by Susan Stryker. I enjoyed reading “Women. Race, and Class”, which taught me more about the stereotypes women had to endure and how black women faced oppression. I enjoyed reading “Transgender History”, which taught me more about the transgender people and it gave me an insight into the LGBTQ+ community, which I didn’t know much about. The learning in this class was very different from my other classes. Even though it was a three-hour class, it didn’t feel like that. I felt very comfortable in this learning space because we were able to voice how we felt about any topic, without feeling that we were restricted. Even if we had opposing views about certain topics, it was never a time where someone felt as though anyone was against them, for their opinion.

As for public writing, this was a new experience for me. I’ve never written a blog post before, but I enjoyed doing it. I especially enjoyed writing my personal piece on women being housewives. This topic was very interesting to me because it still trends up to this day. On social media, I see a lot of posts where men want a woman that stays home, cleans and cooks for them, while they go out, have fun or work. Luckily, women have beat this stereotype by not allowing a man to confine them to this stereotype. Women have chosen to be much more than stereotypes, to be businesswomen, entrepreneurs, and much more. I’m extremely proud to say that we are evolving into much more than “housewives”, where even the reality shows about housewives show that they have their own and they aren’t just cooking and cleaning for their spouses. In addition to writing the blog posts, I enjoyed reading the other blog posts from my peers. They were interesting topics like marriage and gender equality, which taught me more about these two topics. I also enjoyed discussing these topics together in class as I was able to learn more opinions on it.

As for the research project, this was by far, my favorite research project that I’ve ever done. My group’s topic discussed gender stereotypes within professions, and I especially liked how we did it on professions that we were interested in. In my group, we figured out what we wanted to research and began working from there. If we had any questions, we would discuss it with each other, to make sure we all agreed. For our group project, I believe that I brought insight on the stereotypes placed on male nurses. I hadn’t expected most of the stereotypes to be on males, but after doing the research, I realized the reasons for it. Some of the stereotypes I saw were shocking to me because they were unbelievable. For example, there was one that talked about men wanting to be male nurses so they could see women naked. I had never ever heard of that one before. It was nice to learn about the profession because it relates to my future career. I was able to teach my peers how the stereotype came to be, who the first male nurse was and how the stereotypes have changed in the present day. It was a very fun project for me, and I enjoyed also learning about the other professions my peers researched as well.

Why is “Housewife” A Thing?

Women are already given so many titles in this world; mother, grandmother, aunt, wife and sister. In addition to this, they were also given the title of “Housewife”. As Angela Davis discusses in “Women, Race and Class”, women are placed into a stigma where they are the “maids” of the household . In the book, she states “The Countless chores collectively known as “housework”–cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry …consume some three to four thousand hours of the average housewife’s year” (page 260). Davis explains that with all the chores like washing dishes and laundry, it can take up most of their time. On top of all this, women are also supposed to be a wife to their spouse, and take care of a baby. This can be exhausting for women, especially if they don’t receive any help from their spouse. These are all expectations placed on women from the beginning of time.

The idea of a housewife has become much more prominent because of the fact that men believe housework is a women’s responsibility. Most men in society believe that women are supposed to stay home, while they go out, and come home to a cooked meal. I’m pretty sure if you ask most men to do certain chores such as laundry, they probably wouldn’t know where to start. But why does it have to be this way? Why can’t men pick up the broom or do the laundry every once in a while, why does it always have to be the women? I believe that men are just as capable of getting housework done, just as a woman is able to do. I also believe that if men were to help with the chores around the house to keep it clean and tidy, it would give the women a break. It would also help them feel like they are appreciated by their spouse, if they help out, or at least acknowledge the heavy work. Davis points out the idea of how household work can be invisible and is only noticed if something isn’t done. She states, “No one notices it until it isn’t done–we notice the unmade bed, not the scrubbed and polished floor” (page 260). Instead of men pointing out what isn’t done, men should help out with finishing the chores. After all, it would make the chores around the house feel equal, being that both the man and women are contributing their part.

I believe that the “housewife” title restricts the idea that women can be more than just that. Women can be lawyers, doctors, nurses, electricians, just to name a few, but because of this specific title, they aren’t seen as being capable of becoming that.

In today’s society, the title of “housewife” often comes with a negative meaning behind it and has changed since being used during the Industrial Revolution. There is a look of disgust when a woman mentions that she is a housewife, they see her as idle or may think that her spouse is rich, which allows her to be one. In today’s era, if someone mentioned that they were a housewife, it may lead to a discussion of “Is that all you do?.” We see women that have progressed throughout time and are capable of balancing the idea of looking after the house and having a regular job. This helps bring extra revenue into the household, instead of it always being the husband. I also believe that many more women in today’s world are independent and don’t want to depend on a man for money, making them more motivated to go out and work. In today’s world, we have television reality shows that mock the idea of being a “housewife”. The ladies on the show are basically depicted as women who have issues within their marriage, such as financial issues or infidelity. Most of the time, the ladies in the show aren’t shown constantly cooking, cleaning, doing laundry. Instead, they are gossiping or hanging out. These reality shows prove how the meaning of “housewife” has changed over the years.Women have gone from being in the house all day to now living their best life, outside of the house. Not only this, but I, as a woman, aspire to be a woman that doesn’t need to depend on a man for anything, whether married or not. I don’t wish to hear a man try to belittle me either, as to only being a housewife and nothing more. I can’t speak for all men, but luckily, there are some men who help their wives with chores around the house and don’t leave it all to them. In all honesty, I wish the term “housewife” wasn’t a thing because it degrades women’s capabilities as a wife, especially since the word came from a man.

Citation

Davis, Angela Y. Women, Race & Class. Vintage Books, 1983.

Why Is “Housewife” A Thing?

Women are already given so many titles in this world; mother, grandmother, aunt, wife and sister. In addition to this, they were also given the title of “Housewife”. As Angela Davis discusses in “Women, Race and Class”, women are told to cook, wash dishes, do laundry, make the beds in the morning, sweep, go shopping and much more. On top of all this, women are also supposed to be a wife to their spouse as well as take care of a baby, if any. This can be exhausting for women, especially if they don’t receive any help from their spouse. These are all expectations placed on women from the beginning of time.

The idea of a housewife has become much more prominent because of the fact that men believe housework is only for the women to do. Most men in society believe that women are supposed to stay home, while they go out and make money, and come home to a cooked meal at the end of the day. I’m pretty sure if you ask most men to do certain chores such as laundry, they probably wouldn’t know where to start. But why does it have to be this way? Why can’t men pick up the broom or do the laundry every once in a while, why does it always have to be the women? I believe that men are just as capable of getting housework done, just as a woman is able to do all that and more. I also believe that if men were to help with the chores around the house to keep it clean and tidy, it would give the women a break, a breather. It would also help them feel like they are appreciated by their spouse. I believe the “housewife” title restricts the idea that women can be more than just that. Women can be lawyers, doctors, nurses, electricians, just to name a few, but because of this specific title, they aren’t seen as being capable of becoming that.

In today’s society, the title of “housewife” often comes with a negative meaning behind it and has changed since being used during the Industrial Revolution. There is a look of disgust when a woman mentions that she is a housewife, they see her as idle or may think that her spouse is rich, which allows her to be one. Some women have children, take leave and then resort to being a housewife, instead of going back to work. However, in today’s society, we see women that balance the idea of being a housewife and having a regular job. This helps bring extra revenue into the household, instead of it always being the husband. I also believe that many more women in today’s world are independent and don’t want to depend on a man for money, making them more motivated to go out and work. For one, I aspire to be a woman that doesn’t need to depend on a man for anything, whether married or not. I don’t wish to hear a man try to belittle me either, as to only being a housewife and nothing more, as well as think he has more authority over me because they bring home the money. I can’t speak for all men, but luckily, there are some men who help their wives with chores around the house and don’t leave it all to them. In all honesty, I wish the term “housewife” wasn’t a thing because it degrades women’s capabilities as a wife, especially since the word came from a man.