3 ms·

I suspect it also made more sense when men were breadwinners and women were housekeepers. You needed both roles to have a family. Nowadays, it's more feasible t

I suspect it also made more sense when men were breadwinners and women were housekeepers. You needed both roles to have a family. Nowadays, it's more feasible to do it all by yourself, thanks to gender-equality/labor-saving-appliances/increased-wealth/etc. (Unfortunately "feasible" doesn't mean "good" or "healthy", at least not yet) P.S. When I say wealth, what I mean is the wealth of progress we all share... I don't know if there is a term, but for example a vacuum cleaner ran ~$50 in 1920 ($600 in 2014 dollars) and you can buy one today for $15.

waps 12y ago
I think that stopped because it became no longer financially feasible. In the 60s it was easily doable (for a man) to be the breadwinner for a family of 4-5, even 6 people. Anno 2014, It's just not possible anymore. A household, especially with children, requires a $60k wage minimum and the average wage is $32,140 [1]. I'm scared to think how much influence this really had on female emancipation. It is striking how female emancipation happened just a few years after it became pretty much required for household income. It might be more an effect of US (and Europe) social policy than anything else. That way of seeing things also explains gender attitudes much better. E.g. to see why it didn't happen in the middle east. Simple : effectively nobody has a job, of the locals, not men not women. Apparently if employers have a choice out of 1000 individuals, of which 500 women and 500 men, and only 10 will ever get hired, those 10 are overwhelmingly likely to be men. Makes me wonder if gender equality in the middle east would be as simple as dropping average wage, and getting employment up to 40-50% at least. Makes you wonder if that would shut up all the allah has ordained women ... crap. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_S...
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  It is striking how female emancipation happened just a few years after it became pretty much required for household income. Plenty of people would argue the first caused the second. Double the labor supply, halve the wage.
tomp 12y ago
I disagree. I'm from Slovenia, and in this culture both parents have been working parents for generations (i.e. both my parents and all 4 of my grandparents were working). Marriage still makes a lot of sense, simply because (1) people like companionship, (2) it's easier if you share domestic tasks, and (3) you need 2 people to make a baby. Probably other reasons as well, but these are the most basic ones, I think.

waps 12y ago

I think that stopped because it became no longer financially feasible. In the 60s it was easily doable (for a man) to be the breadwinner for a family of 4-5, even 6 people. Anno 2014, It's just not possible anymore. A household, especially with children, requires a $60k wage minimum and the average wage is $32,140 [1]. I'm scared to think how much influence this really had on female emancipation. It is striking how female emancipation happened just a few years after it became pretty much required for household income. It might be more an effect of US (and Europe) social policy than anything else. That way of seeing things also explains gender attitudes much better. E.g. to see why it didn't happen in the middle east. Simple : effectively nobody has a job, of the locals, not men not women. Apparently if employers have a choice out of 1000 individuals, of which 500 women and 500 men, and only 10 will ever get hired, those 10 are overwhelmingly likely to be men. Makes me wonder if gender equality in the middle east would be as simple as dropping average wage, and getting employment up to 40-50% at least. Makes you wonder if that would shut up all the allah has ordained women ... crap. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_S...

sliverstorm 12y ago
It is striking how female emancipation happened just a few years after it became pretty much required for household income. Plenty of people would argue the first caused the second. Double the labor supply, halve the wage.

tomp 12y ago

I disagree. I'm from Slovenia, and in this culture both parents have been working parents for generations (i.e. both my parents and all 4 of my grandparents were working). Marriage still makes a lot of sense, simply because (1) people like companionship, (2) it's easier if you share domestic tasks, and (3) you need 2 people to make a baby. Probably other reasons as well, but these are the most basic ones, I think.