naomi (03/07/83)
#R:sultan:-14100:ubc-medgen:5600003:000:1546 ubc-medgen!naomi Feb 14 10:05:00 1983 re: This method of doing things has worked for thousands of years... I don't know where you got that idea. I understand that for thousands of years, man has been a hunter/gatherer, or farmer. In most such societies the women gather and/or farm, and often make the major contribution to the family "income" (caloric intake). Early manufacturing includes potting, weaving, and other crafts, which were usually the exclusive domain of one sex - but which sex that was depends on the society you look at. On the other hand, I don't know of any human society in which hunting and warfare, and the manufacture of the implements thereof, fell into the female domain, although women have been known to participate as hunters and combatants. After living for a few years in a rural setting in Africa I can say that there is a good reason for a fulltime homemaker in such settings - the amount of effort needed to wash, cook and look after children without appliances, refrigeration, and convenience foods (like flour, or shelled peas) would apparently preclude work outside the home. Nevertheless, in Nigeria, at least, the women do most of the farming, and, in the non-Moslem areas, handle most of the trade (import/export as well as marketing local produce). They also weave, sew and pot. In the third world, the issue of women working outside the home is a non-issue. Most are expected to, do, and must in order the support the family. The real issues are organizing the work-place to accommodate children, and raising the wages of women.