When I meet someone for the first time, I introduce myself "I'm a housewife."
In Japan it is the easiest way for me to introduce myself, because I'm not a full time office worker.
And it means that my husband earns enough money to live and it means of course, that I'm not independent.
But probably most of Japanese don't think about education background of housewives.
Why I wrote such a thing is that----
The other day a lady who came from Costa Rica came to have dinner together. She was a nice lady. She comes here to study getting scholarship, and wants to improve her career. (She is a high school teacher in Costa Rica.)
We talked about the women's situation and she said.
"housewives are uneducated women".
I'm really surprised.
In Japan, most of women were independent after graduation, but when they have kids, they prefer caring kids or have give up to continue working. So they become housewives. I preferred caring kids, so I dare to introduce "I'm a housewife" proudly.
On the other hand housewives tend to live in a small word, so they might not be socialized.
Anyway did she think I was uneducated?
Next time we met, I'll ask her.
What do you think when you hear the word of "housewife"?
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4 comments:
What was your common language for conversation? Sometimes when a non-native (or third language) is your common language it gets "lost in translation." However, I think she is probably correct about housewives in Costa Rica or many Latin American countries where educational opportunities are very limited. My view here in the USA is that being a housewife is a choice...and often a luxury, especially in our current economic climate where many times two incomes seem to be necessary. Here, at least, a housewife has TV, the Internet and community involvement to keep her updated and "socialized"...very similar to children being "home schooled" (by a parent). There was a period when so many women worked outside the home that those who didn't were "just a housewife." Now, a woman replies, "I have the luxury of being a housewife." Jan
Thanks Jan.
To tell the truth, partly I agree with the opinion of the lady. On the other hand I know there is a world of housewives which is really socialized.
In America, people have been fighting about the term "housewife" since the 1970s. In those days, women fought hard to have opportunities to work outside the home.
But later, women who stayed at home felt that their worth as wives and mothers was being devalued. They did not like being thought of as "just" a housewife -- as if that was less than being a career woman.
Since I've lost my job, I find it difficult to introduce myself as "just a housewife". My son is grown and gone and I'm not much of a homemaker (cooking, sewing). For me, my identity was with my job -- just like a man.
Thank you for your comments, mss@Nippondaze.
I really understand your feeling. Me too. Actaully I teach English to some kids, but I'm not confident in my ability. So I often introduce my self as a housewife, though my daughters left home.And until my daughters were born, my identity was with my job, and while I was bringing up my kids, my identity was with my daughters. Now I'm serching my identity or try to enjoy the life without any identities.
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