“Housewives” from Real Life to Reality – ladies from past decades would be mortified! To think all that “hard work” and physical labors they endured to try and gain the ground for equal rights and the opportunities to be in the workforce, if they chose… all to come down to reality tv shows highlighting the “good life” of the well-to-do “HOUSEWIVES” whether in Atlanta, Beverly Hills or Jersey!!?
Besides being a slap in the face – this also gives a grand illusion to “upscale” a term of being a housewife. First of all, when it was considered the “norm” and a woman stayed home to cook, clean and take care of the kids / household, it was done with a household income (average 1970) of less than $10,000! And these “housewives of…” are showing up in gowns carrying bags that exceed that by no less than 10 times!? Even if you compare to the average of 1980 which basically doubled, $21,000 a year meant the housewife wasn’t going out for lunch and grabbing drinks with her pals to cheers some latest BS in the neighborhood. REALITY TV has really ventured outside of what is REAL for most of us!
Seems to me that the fight for women’s rights has taken huge steps BACKWARDS and the struggles we will face in the future will be just as concerning as those from the decades past.
So while we may have a guilty pleasure of watching the far-fetched series of Housewives in whatever locale seems to be trending, remember how hard women fought to be given their dignity for a term you are now throwing around. A housewife, was and likely remains to be – an integral part of society that should be looked upon as just as important as any other title. They are the boss of a complicated and multi-layered scheduling system (from the kids, school, sports and other activities; to coordinating meals and preferences for all, keeping inventory and budget mindfulness; to all the other daily / weekly / monthly events that need to be facilitated) and they deserve the credit of being considered more than a diva wearing high priced clothing while eating fancy foods and jet-setting around with their pals.