I Want a Wife
I want a wife
Published in 1971, “I want a wife” written by Judy Brady illustrates successfully the role of women in marriage. Brady humorously mentions a wife’s duties which range from doing chores and tasks, such as laundry and cooking, to take care of the husband’s mental, physical, social, and sexual needs. The repetition of “I want a wife who will…” is used effectively to emphasis the husband’s selfishness. Brady is right when she lays out a list of what most women are expected do after getting married. She defines “a wife” as a hard worker, a maid, a nurse, a chef, an assistant, a host and a mother. She gives a fair view of the classic role of women in families. Throughout almost forty years, although everything has not changed completely, it has improved so much. Today, women become more independent and have a voice in families. Women, in some ways, are able to reach the equality between women and men. First of all, women have a legal status in law. Back to the early history of the United States, a married woman was defined as being one with the husband. A man virtually owned his wife and children as he did his material possessions. If a poor man chose to send his children to the poorhouse, the mother was legally defenseless to object. Some communities, however, modified the common law to allow women to act as lawyers in the courts, to sue for property, and to own property in their own names if their husbands agreed. But now, women have to their own rights which refer to “bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (suffrage); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights. Women and their supporters have campaigned and in some places continue to campaign for the same rights as men.” (“Women’s rights”, Wikipedia) Women’s rights help women to be seen in a very different way
Published in 1971, “I want a wife” written by Judy Brady illustrates successfully the role of women in marriage. Brady humorously mentions a wife’s duties which range from doing chores and tasks, such as laundry and cooking, to take care of the husband’s mental, physical, social, and sexual needs. The repetition of “I want a wife who will…” is used effectively to emphasis the husband’s selfishness. Brady is right when she lays out a list of what most women are expected do after getting married. She defines “a wife” as a hard worker, a maid, a nurse, a chef, an assistant, a host and a mother. She gives a fair view of the classic role of women in families. Throughout almost forty years, although everything has not changed completely, it has improved so much. Today, women become more independent and have a voice in families. Women, in some ways, are able to reach the equality between women and men. First of all, women have a legal status in law. Back to the early history of the United States, a married woman was defined as being one with the husband. A man virtually owned his wife and children as he did his material possessions. If a poor man chose to send his children to the poorhouse, the mother was legally defenseless to object. Some communities, however, modified the common law to allow women to act as lawyers in the courts, to sue for property, and to own property in their own names if their husbands agreed. But now, women have to their own rights which refer to “bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (suffrage); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights. Women and their supporters have campaigned and in some places continue to campaign for the same rights as men.” (“Women’s rights”, Wikipedia) Women’s rights help women to be seen in a very different way
Cited: hm Doyle, Laura. “Our Marriage Barely Survived”. Newsweek. 12 May. 2003. Kantrowitz, Barbara. “Hoping for the best, ready for the worst”. Newsweek. 12 May 2003 Off our backs. “A statistical look at women and education” Sept.-Oct. 2003: 18. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 8 Aug. 2010. http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=IPS&docId=A109668698&source=gale&srcprod=EAIM&userGroupName=occc_main&version=1.0 Tyre, Peg and Mcginn, Daniel. “She works, he doesn’t”. Newsweek. 12 May, 2003 “Senator…” "Hillary Clinton Biography." Biography.com. Web. 09 Aug. 2010. http://www.biography.com/articles/Hillary-Clinton-9251306 Stafford, Frank "Nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries - Chore Wars: Men, Women and Housework - US National Science Foundation (NSF)." Nsf.gov - National Science Foundation - US National Science Foundation (NSF). Web. 09 Aug. 2010. . Women’s international center. "WIC - Women 's History in America." Welcome to WIC - Breaking News and Opinion, Womem San Diego International Worlwide. Web. 09 Aug. 2010. http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm "Women 's Rights." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 09 Aug. 2010. .