
A good friend of mine was recently laid off from her job of which she hasn't been complianing about. She's newly married (1.5 yrs) and a mother of two (4 month old girl & 2 yr old boy). As you can tell, she has her hands full.
We were talking this past week and she was tell me how at first, her husband was happy that she was home full time to care for the children and tend to the home but now she thinks that he's jealous because he works all day, infact, he's had to pick-up an additional part-time job so that they can stay a float.
He hasn't been complaining too much to her but she can tell that he's not happy with the current situation because he discusses his home affairs with his mother. So, his mother takes it upon herself to contact her daughter in-law (my friend )to question what's going on in their home and to find out why she's not handling her business on the home front. Needless to say, some of the questions she was asking my friend was a little intrusive so she had to letter her mother in-law know that she's trying her best at being a "homemaker" and does'nt think that she should be concerned with issues that don't involve her household. Afterward, she asked her husband not to discuss their personal business with his mother, to come to her so that they can resolve their own issues.
I thought back to what I've learned in this "gendered lives" class to offer my friend some advice about barriers in gender communication and how to open up the lines so that they can communicate successfully. In talking with her (female to female) it surprised me to discover that my girlfriend is completely "happy & content" with being a homemaker and does not want to re-enter the workforce. I guess there are some females that prefer the traditional woman to the modern woman. It will be interesting to see how this pans out since her husband wants her to eventually return to the workforce whereas she doesn't.