THE SOURCE OF LEISURE TIME

March 2002

If one looks back from the present surroundings of modern woman with its heated houses, kitchen appliances, and modern gadgets of all types, and compares this to the distant past when woman’s only environment was a cave with an open cooking fire before it, and a few simple tools of her own design to aid her in her work; it would seem that the change in women’s lives has been tremendous.

But in looking a little closer at this picture, and especially as woman we realize that although her surroundings have changed, the nature of her work and her role, have not. She still attends to the hundred and one physical and psychological details that go into living, and making life comfortable for those around her. The preparation of food, the care of clothing, the cleaning of the house and tending of children are still the occupations that engaged the majority of women, most of the time.

In speaking of the majority of women, I deliberately don’t concern myself with the upper middle and upper class women whose situation might be different, and who are certainly a minority among women. The situation of these women has been dealt with at great length, and often with the subtle implication that their lives are typical of all women’s lives. This is hardly the case, but from popular literature, movies, and social analyses by male academics, one gets the overwhelming impression that everyone in the United States is upper middle class.

In my opinion, this mistaken impression doesn’t completely stem for the near-sightedness of authors, academic, etc., who can’t see beyond their own position on the social scale, and so take their position to be the universal one. This impression that they tend to create is probably just as much a calculated effect that arises from a desire to portray the situation of women as an oppressive, improved "you’ve come a long way, baby" and not in need of any change. But any way, I’m tired of hearing about the lives of the affluent minority, and popular conceptions aside, its highly questionable that the middle class woman leads the free and unencumbered existence that’s attributed to her.

“The reform-oriented groups and activities are comprised mostly of white ‘career’ women (as opposed to the majority of women who takes on a second job outside the home only out of economic necessity and tend not to deal with conflicts and issues that don’t touch on these women’s lives. Most of these women (or their husbands) earn enough money that they can pay others to do what is their primary job as women – to maintain the home and the people living in it. They can afford to pay for babysitters or childcare centers, and sometimes, even for a housekeeper. They are thereby freed from the most oppressive ties to their role as women. As unpaid house workers.”

Lisa Leghorn, “Where are we going?”  Dec.1973

On the surface, it appears that for the majority of women, their traditional tasks have become much lighter and require much less time to accomplish because of the use of modern appliances (for those who can afford them all). This view, I believe, is another mistaken assumption that prefers to ignore the fuller picture of the kinds of changes that have place in women’s lives. Although it’s true women have many household gadgets now, social custom has demanded additional tasks from women, for which these application were designed.

No cave woman was ever depicted over an ironing board; iron in hand, for hours on end. Yet it’s a task that consumes many hours of modern woman’s time. It might be a labor that is unnecessary to the basic welfare of human beings, but men, who don’t have a woman to do, ironing for them, will often pay to have this task done for them; thereby indicating that they believe it to be a necessary requirement of modern life.

When a woman prepared skins for clothing, or sewed by hand, she never had a button to sew on, socks to darn, or ironing to do. Neither did she have: windows to wash, curtains to hang, or lunches to make before the morning rush.

Even though the necessity for some tasks no longer prevails, new necessities have arisen to replace the old ones, and woman’s tasks have often been multiplied to meet new social requirements. In more complex cultures, the standards for cleanliness, nutrition and child –care have became much harder to maintain. Throughout all social and technological changes, the nature of woman’s work has remained basically the same. Through her performance of this work, woman has freed the hands and minds of others from the necessary and tiring tasks that are required for day-to day survival and for some degree of living comfort.

In freeing others from the hum-drum necessities of life, women have placed at the disposal of men and children – leisure time – a wealth of leisure time to be spent with some choice, beyond the hammering necessities of everyday existence.

The amount of time woman has saved for others, to be spent by others, has been paid for at great expense to herself. Historically, women, both as a sex and as individuals, have paid dearly for this time they’ve lavished so freely on others. Women have paid this leisure time for others with hard labor and sacrifice and these products of their labor has been used by men and children as if it were their natural right.

Women have paid for this leisure time, not only with their labor, but also at the cost of the advancement of their sex, on both personal and collective level. While men and children used time for personal growth, education, socializing and planning beyond immediate needs, women were chained to the demands of the physical requirements of life.

What this has meant is that men have been given the time to pursue politics, governance, invention, war and genius. As the popular expression goes, “Behind every great man, stands a woman.” It is little wonder there are so few recognized women geniuses, etc.

That time (a product of woman’s labor) is a very valuable possessions, should be self –evident, especially in this society where “time is money”. As some man, who had the time to think about it, once said, “Time is absolute gift in life.”    

By Betsy Warrior