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The Satisfactions of Hoursewifery and Motherhood Summary

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The Satisfactions of Hoursewifery and Motherhood Summary
The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood Summary

In her op.ed “The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood” written in 1977, Terry Martin Hekker reveals the judgement housewives go through because society does not respect their non-paying job. Hekker opens up by sharing personal encounters involving the embarrassment of telling others her occupation as well as theoretically comparing herself to an endangered species. Hekker continues to elaborate on this metaphor by citing a statistic that states “fewer than 16 percent of American families have a full-time housewife-mother” and as this rate continues to decrease, eventually she will be the only housewife remaining (37). In a humorous manner, she also mentions the enormous fame and publicity she will receive in the future because her profession will be so rare. In a whimsical tone, she gives the example of charging expensive fees for interviews and autographs such as celebrities do. She moves forward by using sarcastic examples such as how it is considered “heroic” to take care of someone else’s children than your own to demonstrate how society views housewives as ignorant and unacceptable. In her finishing sentence, she relates herself back to being an endangered species to stress the ongoing struggle and judgement a housewife, such as herself, faces due to how poorly society views housewifery.

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