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Expectations Regarding Domesticity and Motherhood
Eng 147
Dr. Maria Lorena M. Santos
Ma. Veronica Pearl Condino
Lawrence Diasnes
Renee Bernadette Villaluz
Introduction
Introduction
Motherhood has always been glorified as the ultimate fulfillment of womanhood, that women themselves would only achieve greatness once they become mothers. This belief places immense pressure on women to reach expectations that not all are able to fulfill. Women are expected to play the role of the dutiful wife, kind mother, and diligent housekeeper. Inside a house, a space seen as theirs, they become nothing more but objects whose purpose lies within those four walls. The domestic world is basically a woman's world in the eyes of society. With that, they are expected to handle not only housework, but also fostering a harmonious relationship within the family.
Before diving into our texts for this theme, you may want to peruse these supplementary resources to set you off:
How often is it that women are only seen as being confined within the domestic sphere when talking about the type of labor they are expected to accomplish?
Once a woman marries, they are not only married to their spouse, but to “the house” as well. Women would find themselves subjected not only to the rules of the husband but also of the house. In it, women are akin to slaves in their own home.
Definition of Terms
Definition of Terms
Housewife
in Cambridge Dictionary
Housewife
in Cambridge Dictionary
a woman whose work is inside the home, doing the cleaning, cooking, etc., and who usually does not have any other job
Domesticity
in Cambridge Dictionary
Domesticity
in Cambridge Dictionary
life at home taking care of your house and family; the state of being at home a lot with your family
Domestic work
from “Domestic Work”
Domestic work
from “Domestic Work”
household cleaning and maintenance, preparation of meals for the consumption of household, household budgeting, caring for family members and a variety of other tasks; performed for pay or in an unpaid regime1
Moms on Motherhood
Moms on Motherhood
Hear what modern mothers have to say about the concept and their experiences of "motherhood" through these brief videos:
Division of Domestic Work in Modern U.S.
Division of Domestic Work in Modern U.S.
The distribution of household tasks may have come a long way, but women in the U.S. still hold the larger part of domestic responsibilities despite occupying “nearly half” of the labor force. “Perceptions about who does certain household tasks differ sharply by gender.” How does the modern distribution of domestic work still abide by traditional gender roles?
Ilaw ng Tahanan
In the context of Filipino culture, which prides itself on being family-centered, the image of the "ilaw ng tahanan" idealizes the Filipino mother as someone who possesses an unwavering moral compass, and as someone who surrenders herself almost entirely to her family. Consider, for example, this definition by Philippine Digest,2 and think about how this can be problematic:
mothers are often called "ilaw ng tahanan," meaning the light who brings warmth and comfort to her family by taking good care of them, putting her family before herself, and protecting them the best she can as an ultimate sacrifice a mother could give to her child.
Unpaid Labor
Idealizing the self-sacrificing mother helps draw a rigid binary that dictates what mothers should and shouldn't be. Mothers who do not strictly conform to a certain set of ideals, perhaps because they have to negotiate with circumstances that are beyond their control, are deemed as "bad mothers." Idealizations also tend to trivialize women's domestic labor as mere "housework." Because of this it has become common for people to describe a full-time mother as "just a housewife." In offering a critique of patriarchy based on Marxist principles, feminist sociologist Christine Delphy explains that women are the subordinates within families, constituting a separate oppressed class, based on their oppression as women, regardless of their socioeconomic standing.3 For her, marriage is a labor contract that ties women to the unpaid labor of domestic services and child-rearing--labor that all contemporary developed societies depend on. Patriarchy defines women in their domestic roles as nonworkers who should not expect to be paid.
Please proceed to the texts, "Her Housekeeper" and "I Stand Here Ironing."
Resources
Resources
“What is Domestic Work.” IGI Global. Retrieved from https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/tracing-the-rights-of-domestic-and-international-kenyan-house-helps/61513.
“Mother’s Day.” Philippine Digest, 08 May 2017, http://phildigest.jp/mothers-day/.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Taylor & Francis Group, 2014.
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