Women SHOULD Know Their Place: The Ever Existing Cult of Domesticity

It’s the 21^st century. An age where women have rights. Women are equal to men. Women and men have the same opportunities. And women can do the same things as men can…right? If this is true then why do women still experience a shove to the side when it comes to: equal pay, equal representation in higher office and company positions, and are still perceived as incapable of doing “fix-it” jobs without calling a repair man? Why do women still feel that they are treated as inferior to men?

Still today, in 2016, there undoubtedly exists this persisting ideal of the “cult of domesticity”. Women’s place is in the home, that’s it. Though it may not be as widely vocalized as in past centuries, it still quietly underlies much of the ways women are perceived to this day. Are women not hired for more prestige positions because those in the hiring position, men, don’t believe that women are as capable or as intelligent as a man in fulfilling the responsibilities of the position? Does our society really still believe the only job women should have is that of “homemaker”?

Magazines, for example, that cater to women are full of recipes, and household cleaning and gardening tips; the best hair and body hygiene products to use; the best makeup items of the month that are “must haves”; and the best new moves to becoming fit and sexy. These women’s magazines scream “homemaker”! Where can a female find a women’s magazine that doesn’t suffocate her with the ultimate guide to becoming the perfect women?

Something is seriously wrong here! Our 21^st century society still thinks that a woman’s domain is the home. Even when women work outside the home they still feel the burden of that second and third shift. Yet, it rarely exists to be the other way around. Women are not born into the world specially equipped with the abilities of doing domestic work. We’ve all heard the “get back in the kitchen,” or “women have small feet so they can stand closer to the stove” jokes. On behalf of women everywhere, men, they don’t find your domestic jokes funny!

Society bombards us with gender coded messages from the time we are children that girls are to help their mothers in the home. Heaven forbid they do any heavy lifting, fix the sink or mow the lawn. But this might be a good thing, right? Seeing as women are fragile and weak, and utterly dependent on men, they wouldn’t want to hurt themselves or break a nail or somehow be unpresentable for their male counterparts, would they?

If women reject the submissive role so ingrained in their every day “To Do” list it makes them less of a woman. There remains to be a lack of autonomy in the relationships between, and the standards of, men and women in the 21^st century.

A woman’s “place” is where she wants and desires to be; and in that place feels ever so empowered!

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