Housewife: The Face Of Invisible Women
Due to cultural heritage, personal choice or circumstantial issues, in our society there are a large number of housewives. Women who give their lives to the care of their home and their family exclusively. Sometimes this work is combined with paid jobs, moments in which the woman becomes a housewife in parallel.
Be that as it may, being a housewife is hard work without recognition and that practically to this day is assumed almost by imposition largely on the part of women.
In this article we will refer to housewives as the group of women who dedicate, exclusively or not, their work and personal life to taking care of the house and family, making food, cleaning and worrying that every day everything is in accordance with the needs of the family.
His invisible face, his emotional charge
A woman who is a housewife is unpaid and does not usually enjoy social recognition. It is a 24-hour job that lasts 365 days a year, that does not have vacations or knows the dismissal, that requires knowing everything, being a cook, teacher, babysitter, coach, bodyguard, GPS, doctor, secretary, night guard and of the day …
The workload is determined by the size of the family, by the size and location of the house, by the social status it enjoys, etc. In addition, the peak hours are highly fluctuating but, above all, it never stops.
It is not paid work and is practically exempt from true recognition. Although emotionally it can be valued, there are family and social nuclei that do not consider the importance and difficulty of leading a family, every day and without rest.
Cleaning, ironing, shopping, taking care of your partner, children or children when they are older, having the perfect meals ready, maintaining equality and peace in the kingdom … All without blinking. And not only that, but the housewife even leaves her own care in the background.
In this sense, failing to take care of yourself is a too common mistake that often leads to consequences that are not too positive for a woman’s mood and feelings. In conjunction with a lack of recognition, this can lead to anxiety, depression, and somatic symptoms. Let’s take a closer look at this.
Housewife anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms
Assuming that depression and anxiety are more common problems among women, these are greater in the case of those women who do not have a paid job and are far from the family environment. In other words, it has been found in different studies that women who work at home suffer more chronic diseases, greater acute symptoms and less self-assessment of their health status.
This role is traditionally devoid of structure and social contact, since at certain times and often the tasks can be demanding and frustrating, as well as being involved in great uncertainty.
An “invisible” job
A woman who is a homemaker has less control over her work rate. Likewise, their possibility of rest and disconnection is less and, sometimes, nil . The fact of being “forced” to comply with the demands that accompany this job at all times may see their alternative sources of satisfaction diminish, thus undermining their state of mind and general health.
Therefore, this work must be structured, give it social and economic weight from the governments, grant the value that corresponds to it in the family nucleus. Providing social and emotional support to these women and fostering satisfaction in the performance of this work will help this darkened face gain visibility.
The group of housewives is one of the most forgotten social sectors in our culture. Therefore, it is time that we give them the power and recognition that corresponds to them because, without a doubt, it is one of the hardest, most essential and most dedicated jobs that exist. May we never forget.
