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We’ve all seen those articles calculating what a mother would earn on the free market. No matter how high they estimate a wage for motherhood and homemaking, we all know it’s ridiculous.
There is no price we can put on late-night feedings, intense parenting conversations, or making a grocery trip both frugal management and a fun preschool field trip. Some people might pay a salary to nannies and personal chefs, but that is not the standard that determines a mother’s value.
In a society where schools and universities think their job is qualifying people for careers, it seems like being a stay-at-home mom is throwing any diploma or degree away. Many are still brave enough to do it. Many committed moms also have jobs, yet prioritize motherhood and homemaking and feel the feminist flak.Why Martha Stewart Isn’t a Homemaking Model
After a schooling career that ignored the importance of home and family, it’s no wonder so many moms feel uncertain about their roles and unequipped for them. We look around for a manual so we can stop feeling like failures.
That’s why Martha Stewart was such big business. She tapped into the desire and longing for homes that were more than wayside refueling pits, serving up enough tips and lists and recipes to keep women coming so she could sell advertising to us — and she made a lot of money doing it.
But Stewart was building a brand, not a home. Presented with gorgeous image after gorgeous image in magazines, on HGTV, and on Instagram, we can be caught in that trap: trying to turn our houses into personal brands rather than domains for family-building.
When we copy the people making money off selling advertising to women, it’s no wonder we don’t become more successful homemakers — that’s never been the point. Their goal is to encourage women to buy more things. Advertising works by stirring discontent.
Woven into the tips and craft instructions, embedded in the gorgeous photography, are the seeds of discontent with real homes, where nothing ever turns out the way it does on a production set.
