Dear Dr K,
I read that there may be a Bill in the works which, if passed, would require my father to pay my mother a salary for being a housewife. Is this a good idea? What are the implications of this?
Hoe May Kerr
Dear Hoe,
The one thing that angers me terribly about this proposed law is that it says nothing about househusbands getting paid for their work. Sure, they may be a minority in this country, but I would like to one day join that minority by marrying a hardworking, well-paid professional woman. I would take care of the cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing, besides other miscellaneous household responsibilities. The idea that only women who take care of the house should receive a salary from their husbands is preposterous.
Now my friends tell me: Dr K, it is hard enough for a man like yourself, despite being an all-round know-it-all, to find a financially secure bride with only your skills at cooking and diaper-changing to showcase, so won’t compelling your future wife to share a part of her salary with you because you only do housework hurt your chances further?
No, I respond. My ideal bride, a driven, career-oriented woman, will realise the value of the services I will provide as a competent househusband, and will readily fork over a portion of her salary for the peace of mind and comfort she gets out of coming home after a hard day’s work to an inviting home and a hot meal.
I shall tell you, however, whose chances such a law will hurt: unmarried women who are not particularly good at cooking or cleaning. From the moment that men have to start paying their wives for domestic work, all prospective brides will be inspected with a much keener eye for their homemaking skills by the man and his family. They will taste her cooking and examine the cleanliness of the pile of laundry they gave her, and estimate a monetary value for her performance in these tests. The difference between this estimated value and the sum total of the salary she will receive from her working husband will then be offset by adding that amount to the dowry demanded by the man’s family. Does she use too much salt in her cooking? Does she not mop the floor till it sparkles? That’s too bad, the boy will say, I’m not just trying to ascertain if our personalities are compatible (or even if your skin is fair enough), I’m interviewing you for a lifelong job.
Then, if the woman is found to be satisfactory, she will stay at home her whole life doing housework while her husband forbids her from seeking employment since, after all, she is already working for him.
The makers of the bill, therefore, have to ask whether they are aiming for change in this country or merely perpetuating the same old system that we have been living with for all these years now. The last thing we need is an incentive to keep women inside the house.
Yours questionably,
Dr K