The great house husbands lie: Men go mad if they don't go out to work, one mother insists
By Sandra Parsons
19th February 2009
Not since he let slip that he had slept with 'no more than 30' women has Nick 'Calamity' Clegg made quite such a silly remark.
In an article published this week, the Liberal Democrat leader has suggested that the recession offers men a chance to reinvent themselves.
With breathtaking stupidity, he has compared it to World War II in terms of the opportunity offered: just as women then discovered the heady power of independence and earning money, men now, he says, should seize redundancy with a merry heart and become house husbands.
As a househusband myself I find this woman's drivel insulting. I took voluntary redundancy almost a year ago, and now my wife works earning twice as much as I did. So for me to stay at home makes economic sense, I don't feel emasculated by this fact, in fact I always said that the one who earnt more should work while the other one looked after the kids. To clump househusbands in with the sort of woman who hires a nanny to look after the kids while she goes shopping and plays tennis is just a further insult. She seems to be saying the only people fit to stay at home and bring up children are women, and I thought we were past such sexist rubbish. I enjoy the time I spend with my children and quite a few men have said to me they wish they could have done the same, I find that it is mainly women that make snide or sarcastic comments when they discover what I do. Lets be honest here given the choice between men who stay at home and raise children, and a non job like a journalist, who would society miss more if we weren't there?
2 comments:
I have just come across this article because I am about to become a house-husband myself (albeit one who can make a small income as a freelance designer). But I totally agree with you. Ms Parson's comes across as quite an unpleasant sexist in her article. Not sure why she should wish to present herself as such! As with you, it makes perfect economic sense for my wife and I to swap roles. Caring for a child is not an 'easy' choice, it's one of the hardest (and let's face it, most important) jobs you can do. I find this opinionated dinosaur's comments rather offensive!
Very descriptive post, I loved that bit. Will there be a part 2?
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