Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 11 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 24 years, 4 months ago by
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Why are there not many young, married, African-American female homemakers? Does this have to do with feminism?
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Name : Amoranda, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Muslim, Age : 30, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : Homemaker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It’s due to a couple of factors.The first has to do with the fact that some – not all – black females embrace feminism, which of late says to women that they do not need men to take care of them or, for that matter, to assist them in the raising of children (as witnessed by the disproportionate number of black children growing up in one-parent households headed by the mother). The second factor is that black women, as anyone knows, are having a tough time finding decent black men to date, which would eventually lead to marriage and building a solid family structure.
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Name : Felipe L. Simmons, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 36, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Cafeteria Worker, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,My guess is that a lot of young African-American husbands do not have the provisions to allow their wives to stay home and be homemakers. They probably think they need two incomes to ‘make it.’ Another view could be that perhaps African Americans in general do not see the importance or necessity to have an able-bodied spouse at home (even when there are preschool-aged children in the home) when they could be out making money.
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Name : Redeemed-One30110, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 51, City : Newport News, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Coordinator, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It has more to do with culture, I believe. Black women were not generally encouraged to stay at home and be supported by their husbands; often, they were the ones forced to provide for the home. It was the black woman who was able to break into the lines of opportunity in order to support her household – whereas the black male was constantly broken by the force of the white male power structure.
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Name : Maxim, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College,I think there are few black, female homemakers because many of us don’t have the luxury of choosing between working and staying at home. Finances, whether we are single or married, dictate that we work outside of the home as well as at home.
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Name : RG30360, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 27, City : Richmond, State : VA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,Amoranda, are you not aware of the current situation regarding Black men and women? Black men can barely be civil to Black women, never mind ‘taking care’ of us. If you look at our history, Black men have, through no fault of their own, not been able to provide for their families the way men of other ethnic groups have been. Now that many brothers can, they really don’t care to-they won’t even provide for their own children. I am an educated Black woman, fiercely independent (courtesy of my Dad – thank you, Pop)with a good career and a young son and I’ll be honest with you, Amoranda – there is no way that I would ever trust a Black man to ‘take care’ of me while I stay home. And, to quote the legendary Billie Holiday ‘God bless the child that’s got his (or her) own’. I love having my own. I own my home, and my six year old son and I live a very peaceful, quiet life together. I’ve got money in the bank and I can afford to send my son to an excellent private school. Am I supposed to give up this and let a brother play ‘king of the castle’ to boost his own ego? What about my home? My savings? My future? and most important, my son’s education? Should he go from attending a private school with 110 students to a public school with 2,000 or more students and where he’s likely to receive a poor education and/or be assaulted in the process??? Lastly, If a woman does not have children under school age, or if she’s not retired, then why is she home? She should have a career, or at the very least, a job. Amoranda, its education, education and more education we need for our people to become a force to be reckoned with – and this includes women.
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Name : Rhonda P. Outlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 38, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Amoranda, In today’s African-American family, one income is not enough. Plus, more and more African – American women are independent and working. Another reason why there are not many homemakers is because they do not want to go on welfare in the event that the man decides to leave. Unlike the sterotypes of black women on welfare, African-American women have a deep rooted pride about themselves and their culture
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Name : Country, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 31, City : Cleveland, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Consultant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,Many people have the idea that women did not work outside the home except in the last few decades. This is not true, esspecially among women of color. The fact is that the wages for black, Mexican and Asian men were much lower than those for white men. White men had more educational oportunitues and opportunities for advancement in their jobs than men of color, and could better support their families financially. Women of color have always worked because it was necessary for the financial survival of the family. Who do you think cleaned the wealthy and upper-middle class white women’s houses and took care of their children?
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Name : Lucy-H22674, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 25, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,If I am not mistaken, most African-American women in our history have had to work just to keep the family fed, clothed and housed. This is true of most of the older African-American females I’ve known. The only one I can remember NOT working is my grandmother, who is now in her late 70s. But when she was newly married back during World War II, she had to work, even though my grandfather was classified 4F. Such is the case when for many years, black men were not able to get good enough jobs to support a family by themselves. These days, it may be a combination of feminism, tradition, a desire for the fufillment work brings and the fact that a lot of men do not seem to want wives who don’t work, especially since most people believe it takes two incomes to have a lifestyle consistent with the ‘American Dream.’ But that’s another category, isn’t it?
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Name : Miranda20484, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : African/Irish/Cherokee-American, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 30, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Coordinator, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,There are a multitude of reasons why there are not that many female African-American homemakers. Some of it is feminism, but it is mostly economic. Most black males balk at the suggestion – they simply can’t afford it or don’t want to. And, you have black women who absolutely refuse to stay at home while the man brings home the money (hopefully). In this country there is a strain between the sexes – black women here have always made more money than black men, so there is tension. There is a question of steady employment of black males, morals and more – the list can go on forever.
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Name : Stephanie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Marietta, State : GA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technician, Social class : Middle class,There are no African-American female homemakers because, quite simply, African-American males do not want the responsibility of a wife and/or children. My married sister-friends take their little babies and toddlers (not yet of school age, mind you), in the worst weather conditions, to daycare centers and babysitters. Their husbands own cars, and you’d think they’d be concerned enough to either a) give their cars to their wives to make their travel with young ones less hectic or b) buy their wives a used car, at least, to make their lives a little easier. But these ‘brothers’ are more interested in their wives bringing in more money. They didn’t even allow their wives the ‘luxury’ of one year of bonding with their babies. My God, I was better off as a single parent (my dad took care of me and my son until he was two, and helped me through college). My mother didn’t work until I was 10 and my sister was seven. And my mother left work early every day to pick us up and bring us home. Brothers, if you can’t take care of your family, at least until the kids start school (which is around 3 or 4 years old) then you don’t deserve a wife and children. Simple as that.
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Name : RhondaOutlaw, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 41, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Assalamu ‘alaikum, Financially it may be a struggle for the typical household to live comfortably with one income. Alhamdulillah Allah (swt) has blessed my husband and I with the advantage financially. I am at home with our 13 month old baby girl, masha’Allah.
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Name : Kimberly C., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Muslim, Age : 28, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : housewife, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,
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