Sis wrote:
Off the top of my head I think what happened was something like this:
SAHM's of the 1800's had a lot on their plates. They still had servants and large houses and many visitors that could stay LONG periods of time. "Visiting" was considered a must. It was a full-time job. Industry came along and made things easier in many ways. But then the depression hit and made things much harder. Some women "went to work" or found work to get buy during the depression. Barriers about what women *could* do and were *allowed* to do started to break down. Not much later the wars started and women were called to fill in the gaps the men left as their civic duty.
Women found out what it felt like to bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan. They discovered they were good at a variety of things outside the home and there was a freedom in making the paycheck and saying how it was spent.
IMO, working outside the home is easier than keeping a home running smoothly with children in the house. Add to that the power of the paycheck and it's rather heady.
My concern comes into play though, when women are made to feel "less than", when they do become keepers of the home.
I have been privileged to be home for 25 years....my heart wasn't always in it; but I knew I was doing the right thing for my family.
I received much grief from in laws, and even DH, early on.
Even though I truly, in my heart of hearts, knew I was doing the right thing for our family....I still, at times, (and even now), diminished my own value; and had to struggle to see the importance of what I was doing. Don't know if it came/comes from societal projections, or my own.
There definitely, is power, to having your own paycheck.
There is definitely temptations to have, and make more money and perhaps building a nest egg.....but I do wonder at what sacrifice.
I guess no matter what path we choose in life though, there will always be sacrifice. We can't do it all. One area will suffer, one way or another.