Housewife ➡ Welfare QÛËˁÑ

Betty

Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique (1963) which analyzed and explored the issues of white middle-class women's identity crisis. The problem with no name is about how women struggle to achieve self-actualization because of society's pressure to fulfill the role of the feminine. White middle-class women were only identified as housewife. This oppressed many white middle-class women as they were silenced and remained unspoken when they were totally dissatisfied with their life. The role of white middle-class women as housewives is no much greater than welfare queen however the racialization of the two is fascinating.



You've heard of the welfare queen myth, right? 

"It's all mine!"

"Welfare queen constitutes a highly materialistic, domineering, and manless working-class Black women, relying on the public dole, Black welfare queens are content to take the hard-earned money of tax paying Americans and remain married to the state." ~Patricia Hill Collins

What if we were to replace some of those words with white women? 

During the 1950s were highly materialistic as they bought countless amounts of appliances such as bread-makers, pots and pans, televisions, vacuums and more. And they didn't even really work for the money. They either had their husbands work all day or received some financial assistance from the government through the New Deal Programs. However, they were not labeled materialistic. 

Furthermore, back then that was the goal of society--to make all these appliances (i.e. microwaves) so that women would give up their welding careers back to the men who were returning from WWII without much complaint. The media's propaganda pushed women to remain in the house, to serve their husbands, have lots of children and just stay home as their husbands worked all day. Many women were tied to their homes. They kind of just sat there waiting to cook dinner before their husband came back home. 

What I find most astonishing about this is that society praised white mothers to raise children, remain in the house, live a life of luxury and do nothing all day in contrast to how society heavily criticize black mothers who are doing the same thing today. 

If you were a white mother, society loves you. Society is sympathetic. It will help you in every way possible.

But........if you were a black mother... 

Society hates you. 

Society will bring you down!

Society will start arguing for an anti-government and anti-tax movement so that you, the black mothers who are just sitting at home only merely watching your children, will get off of your asses and go out to find a job.

Why are black mothers are given such harsh labels when compared to white mothers?