I find myself frustrated by arguments for a 50/50 household work split that cast household work and childcare as drudgery that women need saving from. Why is it that work historically done by women is framed as negative, while work historically the domain of men is exciting and liberating? My husband and I would ideally like a setup where 40 hours of paid work/week would support our family, and the option to split that 30/10 so he could have even more time with our children. Neither of us find the idea of childcare as something to be escaped from particularly appealing.
I totally agree! Of course taking care of little kids is not always so fun ... but neither is work! Somehow there is the sense that the dad was the real winner in the male-dominated work world of the 50s and 60s, but many of those guys missed out on the majority of their kids' childhoods, which was also a tragedy in its own way.
I find myself frustrated by arguments for a 50/50 household work split that cast household work and childcare as drudgery that women need saving from. Why is it that work historically done by women is framed as negative, while work historically the domain of men is exciting and liberating? My husband and I would ideally like a setup where 40 hours of paid work/week would support our family, and the option to split that 30/10 so he could have even more time with our children. Neither of us find the idea of childcare as something to be escaped from particularly appealing.
I totally agree! Of course taking care of little kids is not always so fun ... but neither is work! Somehow there is the sense that the dad was the real winner in the male-dominated work world of the 50s and 60s, but many of those guys missed out on the majority of their kids' childhoods, which was also a tragedy in its own way.