On Thursday our class had an extended discussion on topics relating to housewives and stay at home moms and the connotations of those terms. This relates to one of the topics the woman I interviewed for our most recent project spoke of. She said that "for a woman to choose to be at home is a valid career as much as a woman who chooses to work outside the home" because a stay at home career is "very, very difficult, its 24/7 you’re always on, you don’t get to say 'hold my calls' or 'I’m going to lunch,' its rewarding beyond measure, but it doesn’t give you the flexibility and the downtime as if you were picking up a briefcase and walking out the door, I mean it is all the time." I think this is a very interesting first-hand perspective of what its like to stay at home (or work at home) as a mom. Before this interview, I had never compared raising a child to a career. I realized that it was a lot of work but I hadn't really considered the 24/7 factor, which seems like the hardest part of the job. My interviewee goes on to say that "you can’t say to a woman, 'well do you work or are you just at home,' I think that’s an insult to women who choose to be there for their children." She makes a point of saying "just at home" because it demeans the effort that a woman puts in to raising a child, as if it were less than that of a professional career.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Working at Home
On Thursday our class had an extended discussion on topics relating to housewives and stay at home moms and the connotations of those terms. This relates to one of the topics the woman I interviewed for our most recent project spoke of. She said that "for a woman to choose to be at home is a valid career as much as a woman who chooses to work outside the home" because a stay at home career is "very, very difficult, its 24/7 you’re always on, you don’t get to say 'hold my calls' or 'I’m going to lunch,' its rewarding beyond measure, but it doesn’t give you the flexibility and the downtime as if you were picking up a briefcase and walking out the door, I mean it is all the time." I think this is a very interesting first-hand perspective of what its like to stay at home (or work at home) as a mom. Before this interview, I had never compared raising a child to a career. I realized that it was a lot of work but I hadn't really considered the 24/7 factor, which seems like the hardest part of the job. My interviewee goes on to say that "you can’t say to a woman, 'well do you work or are you just at home,' I think that’s an insult to women who choose to be there for their children." She makes a point of saying "just at home" because it demeans the effort that a woman puts in to raising a child, as if it were less than that of a professional career.
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I agree with you. Both women who stay at home and work have a very difficult job. Being a stay at home mom is not a walk in the part. And I do feel lots of people for some reason view it as not a prestigious job. Even though I think it is one of the hardest and important jobs. I really enjoyed reading your post.
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