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J. McKenzie Self
Mrs. Scaife
Composition 1 8:00
20 November 2015
Domestic Feminism
Whether you are talking about women in the workforce or abortion, womens rights has
become a household topic in our country today. Women have slowly moved from gaining the
right to vote to working outside of the home to getting somewhat equally paying jobs. Because
women have moved from the homefront to the workforce, the controversy of domestic feminism
has become extremely popular and one in which I take a stand on being a firm believer that
women are not the only ones responsible for making the household run smoothly, especially
when she has a career of her own.

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Domestic feminism is defined as a political movement that begun in the late 19th century
in order to campaign against women's suffrage in the United States. Domestic feminists
advocated that women should work only in the home. Starting in 1960, many more women
started to work outside of the home. These changes have resulted in women working on careers
on top of caring for their household and rearing children. Why are women the only ones to feel
that responsibility? Why do men feel as if they are not responsible for taking care of the
homefront? Donald Miller, author of Donald Millers Memoir of Growing Up without a Dad,
has been aiming to raise awareness to the public about the significant dangers of growing up
without a father present in a childs life. Miller says in his memoir, I am convinced that within
twenty years, we can shut down prisons because we have provided positive male role models for
kids who would otherwise be headed for trouble, Research has shown that children who grow
up with an active father in their life teaches them discipline, helps them stay out of juvenile or
jail, and enhances the childs intellectual development. They tend to score higher on measures of
verbal

and

mathematical

ability

and also demonstrate

greater problem-solving
and

social

skills.

(TFFA) That research

also shows having both
parents involved in the
childs
promotes

life
a

also
healthy

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gender identity in a child. They learn how to live and be comfortable with both sexes, in and
outside of the home. Since we see this positive aspect of having men actively involved in the
rearing of their children, do they actually partake in raising the child(ren)s life? According to a
1999 University of Maryland study, parents were asked about certain roles that should be taken
on by which individual parent. The results are shown in Figure 1. Based on the opinions from
the mothers and fathers that participated in the study, mothers are more involved in every aspect
of the childs life. With this evidence men should start to stand up and become more involved in
their home life. The responsibility of the home is not solely reliant on the mother.
Today, women are encouraged to go to college and start careers of their own, but women
are still not getting equal treatment in the workforce because there still is a pay gap. Women are
getting paid 78 cents to every dollar made by men. There has been a great controversy over this
here recently. Women
feel as if they should
receive the same pay as
men, but they do not
realize that they are not
receiving the same pay
because
differs
Women

their

work

drastically.
are

more

susceptible to working
in temporary positions or as secretaries, as you can see in Figure 2. (Womens Bureau) These
positions are not long term and do not require a lot of strenuous work, so they are not high

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paying jobs. Research shows that women tend to work less hours than men, resulting in a pay
cut. Career women, who are also mothers, do this because of their high demand of responsibility
at home. Their careers have to suffer because of their choice to be a caregiver, as well as a
breadwinner. This is where men should pick up the slack. They should help out at home more so
their wives can spend more time working and not worry so much about what needs to be taken
care of on the homefront. Gender
roles can also play into this
argument quite a bit. Women
have more of a nurturing and
caregiving

nature,

so

more

women lean towards humanity

type interests--such as teaching or
becoming

nurses--which

are

lower paying jobs. (Womens Bureau) While men are trying to satisfy the breadwinning pride
and go for higher paying jobs that are a lot less personable and compassionate--lawyers and IT
specialists.

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Works Cited
Twenty Reasons Why a Child Needs An Active Father. The Texas Foster Family Association.
N.p., 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015. <http://www.tffa.org/2014/01/21/20-reasons-why-a-child-

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needs-an-active-father/>
How Involved Are Fathers In Raising Children? How Involved Are Fathers in Raising
Children? Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.prb.org/publications/articles/2000/howinvolvedarefathersinraisingchildren.as
px>
Women's Bureau - Quick Stats On Women Workers, 2010. Women's Bureau - Quick Stats on
Women Workers, 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/qswomenwork2010.htm>