Don't be bound by labels! Like 'full-time housewife' or 'parasite'.

People say the number of children isn't increasing, but before that, I want young people to know the joy of living.

That is why I want them to be free from things that bind their hearts.

The ideal of a stay-at-home mother

Even now, many women aspire to be full-time housewives.

However, I wanted to tell young women that it is actually a very unstable position, so I wrote an article titled To You Who Want to Be a Full-Time Housewife.

Then, a young woman commented on that article,

She gave me that comment.

Both she and her friends say their ideal mother figure is a respected stay-at-home mother. She said,

She said.

That is true. For young women, this country is difficult to live in.

That is exactly why I want them to know.

That being a full-time housewife is a created way of life. In this country, the good wife, wise mother ideology has been embedded in highly educated women, and education has been provided so that women take pride in the lifestyle of being a full-time housewife.

However, it has only been half a century since women became full-time housewives in earnest.

Before that, both men and women worked. Yet, the imprinted ideology from the Meiji era is now tormenting young women.

The strength of knowing

That person commented that the things they were feeling conflicted about have been sorted out.

There is nothing that makes me happier than this.

I myself was unable to escape from social customs and labels for a long time.

It was painful.

That is why I truly want to share what I have learned with young women now.

People can change because of something they suddenly see or a word they suddenly hear.

Such changes happen when there is a question within yourself. Even if you have beliefs, for those who feel even the slightest doubt, information can sometimes arrive unexpectedly from the outside.

Customs and labels are, after all, things created by people.

Parasite

In this country, the gender wage gap is wider than in any Western country. That is also a cause of a society that is difficult for women to live in.

That is precisely why I think women in this country need to be creative about how they live.

For example, parasite.

This term came from America, where women can earn as much as men. And that term has taken root in this country.

That is why parents and society tell a daughter who has found a job to live alone.

But in this country, where the majority of women are in support roles, how much can a woman actually earn?

In our home, we discussed it as a family when our daughter got a job. And on the condition that she pays the market rate for rent and helps with housework, our daughter continues to live with us.

Because of that, our daughter has the financial leeway to travel and pursue learning. Of course, by having our daughter pay rent, we parents get a stable income and our housework burden is reduced. It is a win-win.

In this day and age, learning is essential. If living with your parents is not a hassle, living with them creates the leeway to pursue new learning. That may eventually lead to increasing your own wages.

I believe that you can be independent even while living together.

You don't need to worry about words like 'parasite', or what society thinks. This imported term doesn't fit the circumstances of women in this country.

Women's ways of living in this country require ingenuity.

Conclusion

I don't want to blindly accept things that everyone takes for granted. Parents don't know everything. At most, parents can only see as far as their own generation.

Please don't ignore things that feel wrong. Even if you think your stay-at-home mother is the absolute standard, you might be able to build an even better parent-child relationship with a working mother.

It is painful because you are hesitant. You are hesitant because you haven't grasped all the information.

That is why you are bound by words.

I want as many women as possible to get the information they need and become free from words.

And I want you to enjoy your life.

*Thank you for reading until the end.

*I also talk about this on Stand.fm.