What being a housewife does, is allow you to increase your leisure time during his work hours, so that you don't mind all of the evening and weekend stress, as much.
But men get upset at the thought of their wife relaxing, while he's at work. Seems lazy, to them, and a lack of solidarity because they don't realize that she probably considers some/all of her "leisure time" together with him as "work time".
It's a miscommunication of sorts.
I know more stay at home moms. They are not getting leisure time while their husband is at work. At best they’re getting a bit of time while the kid(s) are napping but it’s usually time filled getting things done without kiddos slowing you down. Their husbands pitch in on childcare and household tasks after work too.
That is the exhausted state of all mothers of young children. That's usually only a few years, at the beginning of the marriage. And that is the length of time that almost all marriages last.
Women either need to have more children (to extend this phase and to be "allowed" to remain home), be housewives (to increase their leisure time), or the husbands need to do A LOT more childcare and housework, to make the cost/benefit analysis of continuing the marriage more attractive.
I had a housewife for a few months. I didn't mind her relaxing while I was at work, but I did mind her blowing through big $$$ on shopping and restaurants, and then complaining about how bored she was.
I have concluded that women have a need for drama and BS in their lives. Many do not understand this.
If women cannot be adequately supplied with it by work or studies or children, they redesign their marriages to get it from there.
I am confident that this observation would apply equally to men, but our culture does not indulge them the same way unless they are independently wealthy from a young age.
Black women are often the breadwinners in their marriages, actually, because their earning potential is higher than their mens'.
Lots of black women have househusbands. Probably why I know more househusbands than housewives. Housewives without young children are like 🦄
Black housewives seem to largely be an artefact of interracial marriages and I suspect their willingness to be a housewife is one reason such marriages are increasing so quickly.
Why? Are black women different?
Bit of a selection bias, there, since almost all women who aren't raising young children work outside of the home.
The high status men are denying the low-medium status men the ability to have housewives due to monetary debasement.
From a Darwinian perspective, the proper response would be war.
Yes, but I doubt anyone sees the connection.