by: Lindsey Ritter
Wake up in the morning go wake up the kids.
Make sure the kids are fed and clothed.
Take out the dogs.
Make sure that their lunches are prepared and packed.
Take the kids to school make sure you are on time!
Hope the kids are on time for school that way you can go to class on time.
Go to class then go to work.
(Make sure work and school fit around the kids schedule in order to pick up the kids for practices and school)
Leave work and pick up the kids.
Take one kid to his baseball practice tonight and then remember tomorrow it is wrestling, then again baseball game and then wrestling match!
Get home and cook a healthy dinner. Because we all know we don’t want our kids to be unhealthy or obese, so something with chicken…I wonder when the kids will get tired of chicken?
Make sure the kids do their homework and then it is off to a shower, brush teeth and BED!
Take out the dogs.
Kids are in bed. Time to go for a run
All sweaty and icky so shower time a must!
Homework time,
Goodnight!
OHH no only 4 hours of sleep AGAIN??
After doing the reading on second wave feminism I started to think to myself is this all for me as well? Now I love my life but constantly feel that I am moving and going this was my week with the kids, I do have help from my significant other but only during the night. The women during the break between the first and second wave were caught in a state of confusion about why they were feeling like something was missing in their lives. That was the freedom of being able to be someone besides a housewife and feeling like there was no choice but to be a housewife. I am not saying there is anything wrong with being a housewife but as we read in the readings “The Problem That Has No Name” women were feeling that something was missing or something was wrong and they were unsure what it was and I believe that most had to do with not having their freedom and not understanding or remembering that women were fighting for their rights and fighting for equality before and that “the chains that bind her in her trap are chains in her own mind and spirit. They are chains made up of mistaken ideas and misinterpreted facts, of incomplete truths and unreal choices,” (290). If we as women have been told something by the dominating society and Capitalism they want us to continue feeling trapped and put under his thumb, the problem is seeing past those lines and seeing the truth, not feeling tied down in chains or wondering is this it? I also question where we are with society today since women have taken on more roles and many still believe should be the main house keeper and take care of the children. Women now have a job because it is difficult to maintain life without two incomes and many women have to still come home and cook or clean. I am lucky and have a significant other who does help me out (when I ask for it because I am very stubborn and feel that I can take on the world…because I am after all a woman and am very proud!). However, most men still have the ideology that women need to come home and clean, cook, and take care of the children even after being at work. So my question then is have we come far enough as some would say we have?
I like to take the example of the original stepford wives because it brought the “concerns and ideologies of second-wave feminism to popular culture, particularly, a woman’s control over her own body,” (Silver, 2002). When Friedan wrote about the women in “the Problem That Has No Name” those concerns that were expressed are replicated in Forbes The Stepford Wives by the two main characters who are fighting Stepford and fighting their inner feelings and their confusion about their town, and the literally interpretation of “fetishizing housework turns women from individuals with goals and ambitions into cleaning appliances: robots,” (Silver, 26).
The original stepford wives trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUWOeNfa6Y
The original stepford wives entire movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuG8D8oUn_8
Hi Lindsey, it is crazy to stop and think that a woman now has more than just children and a husband, they have children, a husband, a house to clean, laundry to do, a job and sometimes even school! Somehow women have found a way to juggle all these tasks, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they take it as an accomplishment they see it as a type of obligation that was put on them by society and their husband! As a Latina my culture strongly believes that a woman must know how to cook, clean, do laundry, everything that comes with domestic work, but when it comes to having children it’s kind of a taboo to be talking about having children unless you are a mother yourself and you are talking to another mother. My culture isn’t really open to the idea of having sex before marriage or even talking about it openly! But now I see that second generation Mexican American mothers are more open to the idea of talking to their children about sex. I believe that we have come pretty far compared to how it used to be in the 50s. Now we see men helping out with domestic work as you said your partner helps you out. In the 50s men wouldn’t be caught dead helping women in the kitchen! Now we see men that stay at home with the children and women being the primary breadwinner in the household. So my answer to your question is yes! Even though my mother still sticks to her traditions, my father helps out somewhat here and there. We don’t expect to see change all of a sudden; I believe change usually happens with a new generation of individuals that change their way of thinking. I also feel like we are the generation that is going to change it all. We are already seeing developing changes in different parts of the world.
ReplyDelete~Marlene M.
Lindsey-
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your poem, I felt overwhelmed...just from reading it! I could feel the stress in the words! Not only that but that’s something that sounds like my life...I think both women and men take for granted what their significant other does. I think that men and women dismiss what goes on at home if they are the one working and their partner stays home and vice versa. Or if both partners are working they may fail to understand what each job requires of them and feel that one person may have it easier. This certainly would causes disputes. To answer your question, I do not think we have come far enough as a society where EVERYONE has equal chores. I’m not saying that some families haven’t figured it out but certainly not the majority. I feel that many people still are stuck with the ideology in their heads that men do one thing and women another, and have not yet come to an understanding that things shouldn’t have to be where one person is superior and the other inferior. Or even where one person does all the household chores or just works, I think it’s all a matter of time but we are just not quite there.
Kirsti Reid
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI totally felt united with what you said. I felt as though it was a description of my own life! I felt everything you wrote in your blog was very well said and I bet a lot of women could relate to it. Part of me feels frustrated that in present time not only do women continue to play the part of the house wife, but also attend school, and bring in income,because we are human and we need to take care of ourselves as well. But at the same time, I feel like it sheds light on women and how strong and versatile we are. I am proud to be a women and I truly do believe we can do it all!
Caroline Crandall
I enjoyed your post and your "daily checklist". I agree with you and Caroline. This too could be my daily list. Mine is a mental list, is yours? I feel like we have a lot of pressure to take care of the children, household, school and work. It is a hectic life, but it will all be worth it in the end. As you said, we are women and we are strong. We can handle it all for the most part, but help is GREAT! I can't be in two places at once, contrary to what some in my family believe, and I am grateful my husband is supportive of my school, children and work. Juggling pickups, dropoffs etc..is quite a challenge. I loved being home with my kids when they were little and going on school field trips and being room mom. But now it is my turn to finish my education and become part of the full time working world. Do you watch the Housewife's of Orange County? I just saw an episode where Alexis is told by her husband Jim that when they became married they are now biblically one flesh and that the woman should stay home and care for HIS children. She is starting to work and requires more help from him and their nannies. Oh what a tough life!! I am sure his comments will show up on E! the soup. Anyway, I enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post because i can relate it to my everyday life. Because we are women we are often required to take care of house-hold chores, such as cleaning, cooking, sewing, baking, and care for the children, and if a man does it considered taboo. When you see a man on the TV doing chores, its suppose to be funny and comical because they are not usually seen doing the house-hold chores, but when you see women on TV doing the chores, they are serious and sometimes acting like a bitch or a seargant doing drills .
ReplyDelete