The word "housewife"...oh you English..
By vanny
@vandana7 (98861)
India
July 22, 2017 1:47pm CST
Ok..why does it not have an opposite like "househusband"...
That is gender discrimination.
Then again does it mean the wife at home, meaning men may have A WIFE outside home...
So what would she be? Outsidewife?
Tough language...and I always get lost with such thoughts.
How tough do you or did you find learning English.
At least, it is only one wife that is allowed...outside.
19 people like this
19 responses
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
22 Jul 17
Husband Inside a new show..oh oh bad
Lets see HouseHubby..yes that will do. How bout HubbyBoy or HouseBoy.
or HouseMan.
The Missus (the wife)
The Tart (the mistress)
Me (the old maid)
Homemaker..or HomeWrecker.
or HouseMan.
The Missus (the wife)
The Tart (the mistress)
Me (the old maid)
Homemaker..or HomeWrecker.8 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
24 Jul 17
@noni1959 Oh yes thats a good one Loretta Domestic Goddess lol
Yes HouseBoy is good for cougars lol
2 people like this
@vandana7 (98861)
• India
23 Jul 17
So what is wrong with the word care giver for children or elderly or others? Why house wife, or house husband..SMH. Even if the girl is not married, she gets referred to as housewife? Weird.... and home maker makes me think of somebody carrying a whole lot of tools and nails to build a home.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
23 Jul 17
@vandana7 Regardless of what you wish to call it, as far as HM Government in the UK is concerned, you are classed as "economically inactive" if classified as a "homemaker" or similar, the bare-faced cheek of these faceless mandarins in government back-office!
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
22 Jul 17
English isn't tough for me considering my native language belongs to the same family of languages.
I'm surprised about your musings on 'househusband'. I've read the term several times.
The German equivalent of the term is 'housewoman'. What do you make of it?
6 people like this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
23 Jul 17
@vandana7 Yes. The equivalent of 'Miss' isn't used much anymore. Only old unmarried women may use it for themselves.
It's considered old-fashioned. Why should strangers know about the marital status of a woman? A young woman in her early 20s would be called 'Frau = Mrs' and she would call herself 'Mrs', too. When introducing herself, she'd say, "I'm Mrs Miller."
1 person likes this
@asfarasiknow (3341)
• Bournemouth, England
22 Jul 17
It's a rather old-fashioned term dating back to many years ago when gender roles were less varied and it is hardly used here at all anymore. If a woman in a partnership here has made a conscious decision not to go out to work then she is more likely to be referred to as a home-maker. And yes, there are househusbands here, men who stay at home running the home and looking after the children while their female partner is the breadwinner.
6 people like this
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
22 Jul 17
They say English is one of the hardest languages to learn. I was born in the United States and it has always been our families language. My 10 year old says the spelling is stupid, with so many silent letters. Like Knight and such.. lol Does make for hard learning at times.
Now with the word housewife, it just means a wife that stays home and takes care of the house and kids while the husband goes out to work. I know a few people that hate the term. It has never really bothered me. I think now days thou most are called, homemaker, which in a way is no better because I don't make homes.. lol We do have males that stay at home, as my son in law does, no matter what the name he is given, being, househusband or homemaker.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98861)
• India
16 Aug 17
@Ithink .. They think it has become easier...with all those implements. But they do not realize that traditional cooking plus contemporary need to work combined with more often demand for traditional food brings it to square one because the effort in cooking is only halved, whereas traveling and working has increased the burden.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
31 Jul 17
American English can be a bit crazy. Those of us who grew up here take them for granted, so interesting to hear your thoughts while learning the language. Houses Husband is used at times with great pride by the men who do stay home and cook and clean...I am a house wife who works on my art at home so we do (husband and I) share the house chores. He cooks, I clean when needed...
Housewife definition, Sometimes Offensive. a married woman who manages her own household, especially as her principal occupation. See more.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
16 Aug 17
@vandana7 I cooked when he was working but now retired, he loves to cook and I love having him cook
1 person likes this
@just4him (306523)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
23 Jul 17
With all the idiosyncrasy's of the English language, I'm not surprised other nationalities have a hard time learning it. People born here and have this as a first language find it hard to keep up with all the different ways words are spelled. So housewife does sound gender discriminatory, but then they do have Mr. Mom to accommodate male housewives.
2 people like this
@YrNemo (20261)
•
28 Jul 17
@vandana7 The word that bugs me most is 'breadwinner'. Since women often do the cooking and bread making, how come men are called breadwinners? I know that the word could apply to women too who earn the main income in the family, but breadwinner? There must be some sort of war related to this expression .
.1 person likes this
@shikharava (1838)
•
22 Jul 17
Yes, English is not only a language. It's a family of languages. It has many dialects, loan words, and etc. It is really difficult to assign a particular meaning to a word and let it be as it is in this test of times.
Consider the word gay. It meant and still means i(n some places) happy, now it means something else. Also the word villain was used for a farmer. Words come and go. Words come and stay but their meanings change with time. That's the truth. What can we say? ;)
2 people like this
@vandana7 (98861)
• India
27 Jul 17
I have no issues with stay at home dads, when women are bread winners. I, however, dislike those who feel they are doing a lot for the woman when they change their baby's nappy, or hold the baby's feeding bottle. Women can't be expected to handle both fronts and still be angelic.
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
26 Jul 17
I have heard that English is very difficult to learn as a second language. Language errors are pretty common by natives here too.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (98861)
• India
27 Jul 17
It is. Trust me...it is. And we keep trying. I feel we get to know more and enjoy more, if we learn more than one language. Like I can read and know about your country and your travel. I did not know you did not qualify as a blonde. So much to know...
1 person likes this
@spaceseed (2843)
• India
22 Jul 17
this reminded me, few of my friends call me house husband
1 person likes this
@Sherwinmrtn (869)
•
23 Jul 17
Actually housewife is a kind employment, that only a female can do, you guys are the boss of it, we just can be helpers, and i believe you guys loves that to do, i dont females to think like, no a guy should do this than us, then its a big failure of womens
1 person likes this
