Have you seen one of Champion's (cheap laundry soap) advertisements featuring a "houseband"? It was a sort of testimonial type of advertisement. The spiel goes something like, "Dati asa lang ako. Asa sa asawang nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa. Pero ngayon, champion na ako." Well, he's a champion because he has learned how to do the laundry using Champion (natuto raw siya ng gawaing bahay).
The ad seems to be sending the wrong message that being a "houseband" is fine.
Is it actually okay to be a "houseband"? I still don't think it's proper to just let your wife sweat blood to earn for your family (feed you ). I know some "housebands" who are still not capable of raising their kids well (of course there are some exceptions) but still it's different when the mother is the one really hands-on looking after the kids. While some of them know how to do household chores, mind you, most are still dependent to their relatives.
I'm actually thinking if I am being too unfair. It's still an apparent subscription to the idea of traditional gender roles in family. Ang inutil kasi ng dating eh. Admittedly, the woman can do more things at home than the man. Tama naman di ba? So it'll still be a fair game.
And, being a stay-at-home mom is actually a sacrifice: leaving one's career for the family. It's not the same for "housebands". Mostly, they simply aren't capable of getting good jobs or are too lazy to find one.
Anyhoo, given the costly living these days, it's ideal that both are working. However, for the the earlier stages of marriage while the kids are still very young, it's still better if the the husband is the one working.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
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4 comments:
You're applying a double standard. As long as the stay-at-home husband does what a normal housewife does, then it's fine. Magpapalit talaga ng traditional roles.
You're assuming an incompetent man and a capable woman. What if they're both competent but the wife has an office job while the husband's line of work is more flexible, or irregular?
The idea is really premised on an incompetent husband vs. competent wife. Which is usually the case if you find a "houseband".
If the husband has a flexi type of work, still hindi pa rin naman fulltime "houseband". It only means he has more time to do a wife's typical tasks at home. And it means both are still earning for the family. That's a different case and definitely acceptable.
But if the wife doesn't earn then it's ok?
There are conditions, I think.
NO, if what the husband earns is not enough to support the family.
NO, if the husband will pay for the wife's personal expenses.
YES, if the couple agreed that the wife will be a stay-at-home wife (sometimes upon the request of the husband) since the husband has more than enough money to support the family.
Naisip ko lang: Ideally, I guess the wife should be the one to have a more flexible work set-up. :)
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