Madam, Do you work ? --- Now, what kind of question is that ? I hate this question pointed at me. I get up at morning 5.15am, start packing my girls' lunch boxes as they leave at 6.45am. Then comes an array of chores like breakfast for me and S, lunch box for S, laundry, buying things for the house, banking, baking (some days), handle the maid, evening snack for the hungry girls, dinner and the list is sometimes endless. I try and catch up with my favourite Nigella's shows in between, if possible. While I slog around the house so much, I don't take it kindly to answer that question - Do you Work ? Should I answer a NO, I don't work - to this stupid question.
Just because he happened to be the person who helps me during long queues in the bank, I nodded my head both ways - up and down and side to side, totally confusing him. While he looked at me eagerly waiting for the answer, I took the passbook and escaped a verbal answer to him.
Are you employed somewhere ? sounds much better.
Another question that makes me really really irritable is - Are you a housewife ? I am totally angered by the way this society forms words in English - housewife???? grrrrrrr. To which I normally answer, I am a homemaker.
If you take up any application form in this country, there will be Name, Address. And under the heading Occupation, there will be options which has to be ticked. Options available are Employed, Housewife, Student, Others. When there is an option for employed, let the other option be Unemployed - Why degrade the 24*7 working women with a word like housewife ???? I generally choose the Others category and write Homemaker in the space provided.
If a man stays at home taking care of the house and kids, will he be branded as house husband ????? Maybe, yes, in India.
I prefer the stay-at-home Mom / Dad tag much much better than this stupid housewife thing which I am living with.
What are the questions which repel you from answering ? Do you get irritated like me ?????
6 comments:
YES I DO! I do get irritated. And he rtly deserved the confusing nod u gave him. As u said, its very stupid to ask whether u work. Let him stay home one day n do everything. Then he wil know. For that matter, even people who work out of home are home makers too rt? And it sounds good to say SAHM. Such ppl are too many dear. Lets not break our head.
Super post. I am thinking of stuff that bugs me. will be back with them!
Why is being called a house wife so degranding ?
Hello Winnie the poohi !
Its a dislike to the word and the way it is used in India. The general feeling is that the housewife cooks, cleans and endlessly watches TV serials all the while crying thru them.
To make the others think that there are women out there capable of much more than watching TV serials and who are stay at home moms.
I still prefer the Homemaker tag. I am very happy with it.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Actually Housewife tag is not that bad but it is the way some people use which has degraded the meaning.
Homemaker sounds much better.
What's with people and their curious minds when it comes to someone else's life?
Swaram : I know we shldn't break our head on such people. But, when faced with one, I just got irritated.
Butterfly : Come out with ur stuff of bugging.
Solilo : Exactly, Homemaker is a lot better.
What to do ? So many people are out there who make it their job to poke into other's lives.
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