Is the word "househusband" offensive?

[Boojatta]

[saltpoint]

1. I'm neutral.

[AlCzervik]

2. i think the last time i heard that term it was sometime during the 1980's.

[Breeze54]

3. Only if he's not married to the house.

:shrug:

[Kittycat]

4. Do people still use the term, "Housewife" in everyday conversation?

I'm 34yo, and since moving away from home - I never hear that word. I hear Stay at home mom, work at home mom, work out of home mom (and dad for all of those), but never housewife. Sounds corny to me.

BTW - I have a work out of home husband, and I am a work at home wife. My kids get to not share, scream and throw tantrums for both of us all day long :D (and they occasionally do something cute).

[Boojatta]

8. Not every couple has children.

[aspergris]

20. Housewife is corny and out of use

I don't find it offensive, just dated.

Kind of like the word "hip."

Anybody who says "that guy is hip"... isn't

But people still say it.

[knitter4democracy]

37. I was called it just the other day.

It's also the official term on IRS forms. It's a bit grating, as I prefer SAHM, but it's the official term.

[Canuckistanian]

5. You're talking about a hypothetical

"househusband" is not a term that is used for serious discussion.

I DO have a problem with the word "housewife", but it's counterpart doesn't exist outside of vaguely emasculating or homophobic jokes.

[Orrex]

6. I went with option #8, but...

The term "househusband" is clearly an artificial term intended on some level (and not unreasonably) to mock the term "housewife."

I think that the term "homemaker" describes the occupation quite nicely and accurately.

[rwheeler31]

7. Is taking care of things at home considered worthless?

[mnhtnbb]

26. It is in this society.

[MercutioATC]

9. Who the fuck cares?

Is this seriously an issue?

Personally, I think it's a goofy term, but I can't see any reason it'd be offensive.

[evlbstrd]

10. I never thought so.

I was one early in the marriage, from when our daughter was born up until she was a toddler. I freelanced, took care of her and the house and loved it.

[connecticut yankee]

14. I did

I remember once being asked for my occupation and I answered, "None." The questioner then said "Housewife." I replied -- "That's not an occupation, it's a sentence."

P.S. The marriage broke up shortly afterwards and I went to work and felt like a human being again.

[evlbstrd]

25. At work is where I feel the least human.

But I understand what you're saying.

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. I will be your house husband!!!

You need to be cute and rich! I can raise your children
having many degrees in that area of pedagogue

Seriously, You know in Scandinavia that this is normal practice between
man and wife?

Househusband is a old Danish term

[Monk06]

12. Househusband isn't offensive but, "Let out the Gimp" is offensive.

Reference hint: Zed is not spelled with a Zee.

[Occam Bandage]

13. No, it's just a bit awkward, since I'm not sure whether to emphasize

the syllable "house" or "hus."

[frog92969]

15. No not offensive

I don't particularly like it, but I can't say it's offensive.

[EFerrari]

16. No, just redundant.

:shrug:

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English huseband, from Old English hsbnda, from Old Norse hsbndi : hs, house + bndi, bandi, householder, present participle of ba, to dwell; see bheu- in Indo-European roots

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/husband

eta: etymlogy and link

[shraby]

17. Both house husband and house wife

suggest they are married to houses.

[EFerrari]

18. The idea is carers of the house, not married to the house or home. n/t

[Adsos Letter]

19. Personally, I prefer the term "kept man"...

:D

[Boojatta]

21. May I ask why you prefer that term?

[Lorien]

30. They aren't "kept" if they are taking care of the home and the kids

I know one "kept man" and several "househusbands". The former just goofs off all day and the latter works as hard as anyone at a desk job-or harder!

[raccoon]

22. Boo, you should have a job surveying people's opinions, if you don't already. nt

[Boojatta]

23. Well, as essentially the opposite of "don't quit your day job",

that sounds like a compliment. Thank you.

[Boojatta]

24. Kick

[Tindalos]

27. Perhaps.

Or perhaps not. Is the word itself offensive? Or does it depend on context?

[flvegan]

28. It's endearing, actually.

It strips stereotypes and empowers the woman in the relationship.

I love it. I'd be proud to be a "househusband".

[Lorien]

29. I knew plenty of them at one time

One of the corporations I worked for was dominated by women executives. Their "househusbands" would come to pick them up at the end of the day with their children in tow, often commenting about the roast that was still in the oven that they needed to get home to. If your wife is making $200,000 a year and you are making $45,000 a year, then there's not much of a debate about who should stay home with the kids. The househusbands I knew seemed to take their jobs very seriously, and they were good at it. Nothing wrong with that!

[Boojatta]

31. Thank you for a good contribution to this thread!

:-)

If your wife is making $200,000 a year and you are making $45,000 a year, then there's not much of a debate about who should stay home with the kids.

If they both consider themselves Christians and are worried about the camel and the eye of a needle, then is it possible that there might be a big debate?

[Lorien]

32. I don't know if any of them were Christians

but aside from my own mother, I've never met a Christian that worried for a nanosecond about wealth holding them back from heaven. They ignored the camel warning (which scholars think is a bad translation. It should really read "it is easier for a ROPE to get through the eye of a needle...) in favor of "the prayer of Jabez" ( "God wants us to be rich").

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

33. Not Any More Than Housewife Is.

Neither are offensive.

[Boojatta]

35. Apparently there are diverse opinions on the question.

Can you provide better support for your answer than others provided for their answers?

[Maine-ah]

34. as a former house wife, I feel the term should be changed to

domestic goddess.

I'm still mostly DG, I work nights now, but I am home all day taking care of the baby and the house.

[Seeking Serenity]

36. Is the word "househusband" offensive?

No. It just sounds stupid.

It just rolls off the tongue with the same grace as an ice-skating elephant.

[knitter4democracy]

38. I'd have to ask my friend.

He's a stay-at-home husband, and our kids used to be in the same playgroup together. I seriously doubt he uses the term or likes it much, as it doesn't describe the job we do very well. I'm technically a housewife, but my job isn't the house as much as it is the children and family issues and I don't stay home because my husband makes me.