The British Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary, published in 1901, defined a housewife as "the mistress of a household; a female domestic manager." A housewife, or hussif, was also the name given to a small sewing kit.
Modern dictionaries define housewife variously as "a married woman whose work is inside the home, doing the cleaning, cooking, etc., and who usually does not have any other job," or "a woman whose main occupation is caring for her family, managing household affairs, and doing housework, while her husband or partner goes out to work."
In 17th-century rural England, women were responsible for a combination of domestic duties and childcare, timely tasks such as milking cows, clothing production, cooking, baking, housekeeping, and looking after youngsters.
During this period, women faced long working days year round with little or no sleep. Typically, men's work consisted of one particular task, plowing for example, or thatching. Their role was always separate and distinct from their spouse.
A housewife's responsibilities extended to taking goods to the market to sell, and she was also supposed to have some knowledge of medicine and be able to treat her family's illnesses.
In 1900, 90% of wives in the United Kingdom were not employed in the workforce. The statistics were similar in the United States. Pictured is the front cover of a 1908 edition of Good House Keeping featuring a woman preparing fruit drinks.
Women, married or otherwise, on the First World War home front had to adapt to a "total war" situation. Ensuring their own and their family's survival meant working alongside men in munitions factories to earn a living. Women found their roles had changed, but under the strict understanding that after the conflict industries would return to their pre-war forms with a clear gendered division of labor. For housewives, that meant more of the same.
The early 1920s saw housewives still carrying out what was often described as a demeaning role consisting of monotonous, fragmented work that brought no financial remuneration and little, if any, recognition.
Even in middle-class households, duties remained tedious and repetitive, an endless round of organizing and maintaining a home that emphasized the male breadwinner's financial success.
At this time, and with few job opportunities afforded to the average woman, the role of the housewife was not only accepted in society, but—paradoxically—a sought-after release.
The typical 1930s housewife was in many ways proud of her domestic skills. In fact, many women chose to stay busy in the home. Work outside of the home was deemed unattractive, difficult, and daunting.
A 'good' housewife learned to be inventive and adaptive. Those from poorer households adopted a waste-not-want-not attitude. And even those from wealthier households would not spend money where it wasn't needed.
By the 1930s, numerous magazine advertisements were aimed at the woman at home, like this one for McDougall's self-raising flour. It shows a delighted apron-wearing housewife with a gloriously risen cake.
The 1940s began with another war. Londoners were unprepared for "The Blitz," the German bombing campaign that left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. Pictured is one housewife outside the wreckage of her home. Suddenly women were back in demand on the home front.
In North America, women were also taken out of the house and into the factory. This female war production worker is seen at the Vilter [Manufacturing] Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, making M5 and M7 guns for the US Army.
But a housewife's work is never done, and in Newcastle, England this kind soul is taking in laundry from soldiers on leave. The sign says: "Troops! Your Washing Done Free."
The 1950s saw an unprecedented period of domestic growth in the United States. People had money in their pockets, and households could afford the latest home appliances. A new fridge, for instance, was a favorite purchase.
In fact, most middle-class households were spoiled for choice. But a housewife was still expected to have dinner ready on time for her husband and the kids.
She was also expected to clear away the clutter, gather up schoolbooks, toys, and any magazines or newspapers, and then perhaps run a dust cloth over the table.
The backyard became an extension of the house, with lines of freshly laundered sheets and clothing fluttering in the breeze.
Advertisers had a captive market in the shape of the housewife. Here's an ad for Vim kitchen cleaner, which promises "Spring-Cleaning is Sing Cleaning with Vim."
But by the 1960s, women were beginning to find a voice for themselves. The housewife was still expected to dote on her husband and create a spotless home, delicious meal, and inviting bedroom, but she was getting tired of being taken advantage of. And in any case, the employment market for women in the 1960s was by now far more attractive than in previous decades. Housewives were starting to really consider their options.
In the same decade, women found another voice in politics and began understanding the concept of feminism. Instead of focusing purely on household and childcare duties, women slowly merged into the public sector of society.
And something else happened. By the late 1960s and early '70s, housewives of color had begun appearing in photo shoots for domestic appliances and house sale brochures.
Largely ignored by advertisers either through prejudice or by the fact that in the US, at least, many African-American women at that time were more likely to be domestic workers rather than homeowners, women of color were becoming recognized as consumers in their own right, citizens with careers and incomes. However, many Black families, recent immigrants, and other minority groups tended not to benefit from union wages, government policies, and other factors that led to white wives being able to stay at home during previous decades.
About 50% of married US women in 1978 continued working after giving birth; in 1997, the number grew to 61%. Becoming a housewife was, for a while at least, becoming less attractive by the day.
The number of housewives in the US increased in the early 2000s. But with the 2008 financial crisis, a decrease in average income made two incomes more necessary, and the percentage of married US women who kept working after giving birth again increased, to 69% by 2009.
Today, according to data released by Pew Research, stay-at-home moms and dads account for about one-in-five US parents. The term stay-at-home mother, or mom, has also come into more common use.
See also: Healthy lifestyle choices all women should make.
(Source: Pew Research)
The term "housewife" may sound rather outdated in the 21st century, but there was a time when the description applied to millions of women around the world, those whose main responsibility was running or managing the family home, caring for children, buying, cooking, and storing food, and doting on their husbands. Well, that should really be responsibilities plural, shouldn't it?
Click through the following gallery and take a look at how the role of the housewife has changed over the last few hundred years, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The changing role of the housewife
It changed over the years
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The term "housewife" may sound rather outdated in the 21st century, but there was a time when the description applied to millions of women around the world, those whose main responsibility was running or managing the family home, caring for children, buying, cooking, and storing food, and doting on their husbands. Well, that should really be responsibilities plural, shouldn't it?
Click through the following gallery and take a look at how the role of the housewife has changed over the last few hundred years, particularly in the 20th and 21st centuries.