Template:Work

Feminists often claim that women did not work until recently. Even brief examination of the historical record should demonstrate that this is not feasible. Societies were not wealthy enough to have many people not-working until recently. Until the 19th century famine was an ever present threat even in Western society.

Assuming our species has been around for around 100,000 years, we have spent 90-100% of our time on this planet as hunter-gatherers (depending on region) and much of the rest of the time engaging in some form of agriculture. The concept of a house wife arose rather recently and represented women who did not have to engage in back-breaking agricultural or factory labour alongside their menfolk. The menfolk meanwhile kept at the back-breaking labour. Women have worked outside of the home in some form or other for most of human history. Originally they gathered and sometimes hunted, then they worked the land alongside their men and their children. Later a lot of them worked in factories, alongside their men and their children. Then eventually a few of them got to stay home while the men went out, mainly due to rising standards of living. Eventually this became common in some countries - we call them rich countries. Later the myth of the poor unfulfilled stay at home mother was born and the knowledge that this was in fact an historically privileged position was largely forgotten.