I reckon that women (and men) are now tied to their office desks with much shorter chains than those that were alleged to tie their mothers or grandmothers to the kitchen sink. And the shortest chains are attached to those whose employers expect them always to be available by mobile phone.
What's the difference between working at the kitchen sink or working in an office to pay for the washing machine and dishwasher?
Women's lib may have intended to redress the balance between the opportunities open to men and women. But all it has achieved is to leave vast swathes of cities towns and villages empty of men, women and children during the day with the consequent loss of the local community that, in times past, provided security and "family values" in neighbourhoods.
Long ago when paid work commonly required physical effort it was probably reasonable to expect men to do it. But once the nature of work changed there was no reason why it should remain a male prerogative and a young mother ought to expect a fair choice to be made as to whether she, or her partner would be the wage earner. Unfortunately there has been no change in the assumption that men go out to work. Its just that women now go to work as well.
And all for the benefit of the manufacturers and retailers of all the "essential" material goods that your grandparents lived without quite happily - fitted kitchens, TV in every room, dishwashers, fitted carpets, hardwood floors, two cars, exotic baby buggies, dresses, shoes etc etc etc.
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