Analysis of The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood In an Age of Do-Your-Own-Thing Article - Essay Example

Hekker’s suggestion that most mothers choose to work in order to maintain an affluent lifestyle is unfair because working mothers are motivated by economic necessity, and the need for self-fulfilment and self-sufficiency. Most working mothers are motivated by the economic necessity to juggle a job and motherhood. In these days of rising costs and financial stress, a single parent’s income is usually not sufficient to support a family. For a normal middle-class household, the mortgage on a home loan, utility bills, the cost of educating children and meeting medical and other miscellaneous expenses are considerable.

The husband’s income is not always able to pay for all these expenditures. The economic situation has changed drastically since 1977 when Hekker wrote her op-ed. It is now no longer realistic for all women to live “very frugally, on their husbands’ paychecks.” The paycheck of today can support substantially less than what it was able to support a quarter-century ago. It is the necessity to contribute to the family income which compels the large majority of mothers to join the workforce.

Most often, the deciding factor in such situations is the mother’s overwhelming concern for the children and her determination to provide them with a higher standard of living. If Hekker’s contention were true, then all working mothers would enjoy an affluent lifestyle. This is obviously not a ground reality. Many women work only to make ends meet in the family. A segment of working women, who are not primarily motivated by economic necessity, choose to work in order to fulfill a need to achieve their potential.

These are women of talent, who choose to demonstrate their ability through a career. As artists, writers, scientists and hundreds of other choices, they work to express themselves and to grow to the fullest extent possible. It has to be admitted that the days of gender hierarchy are dead and the feminine stereotype of a woman as a home-maker is outdated and false. Most women are not content to be “just someone's wife,” as Hekker says. When gender equality is acknowledged as a fact, the role of housewife and mother may not be sufficient to meet the woman’s need to explore her full potential as a human being.

With the higher level of education attained by contemporary women, this search for meaningful employment is increased. These women are in pursuit of self-fulfilment and not an affluent lifestyle. The monetary gain which may accompany their professional accomplishments is only an added benefit but not the goal of their careers. The desire to be self-sufficient is another major motivating factor for working mothers. Many contemporary women, reared on the ideals of gender equality, are nor comfortable in a position of dependence on a man.

To these women, a career is an assertion of independence and self-sufficiency. A need for security is also a part of this position.