Have you heard of the “Good Wife’s Guide”? If you haven’t, do a little googling and read it for yourself. You’ll likely be surprised by the “rules” that they used to lay out for women when it comes to taking care of the house. Today, I wanted to reference some of the points they bring up but spin it so that it has a modern take on things. After all, a woman is no longer expected to know her place and stay in the kitchen all day long. Here’s The Good Wife’s Guide: Modernized.
Communication
Instead of feeling afraid to voice your opinions, you should feel free to express yourself to continue building a healthy and loving relationship. A couple needs to determine what is right for their family as a team. The original Good Wife’s Guide references the idea that you should inherently support everything that the man of the house has to say. In the 1950’s, a woman was meant to keep quiet about her opinions and let the man do all the deciding. In today’s world, it is essential that both partners have open communication and feel free to express themselves.
Appearance
In today’s world, women aren’t just sitting around the house, doing chores, and waiting for their man to get home. After all, women have made great strides when it comes to equality. Furthermore, instead of feeling as though you have to look perfect for your husband, you should feel comfortable presenting yourself in any way you please. When it comes down to it, women have hard days too. It’s not just men who feel stress and worry throughout the day. If you’re in sweats and have your hair up in a bun, the right person will love you regardless. While it’s always a good idea to refresh yourself when you need to, it doesn’t need to be about “touching up your makeup” or “tying a ribbon in your hair,” which is what the original Good Wife’s Guide suggested.
Support
The original Good Wife’s Guide states that it is a woman’s duty to add interest into the man’s day. It also suggests that you should be gay at all times. Okay, bare with me. This one may not be a total lost cause. I’m certainly not suggesting that it is your “duty” to provide interest in his day. However, the core of this point is not a terrible one. When you’re preparing to see your significant other, you probably already know how their day has gone. In a world of smartphones and constant communication, it’s easy to know if you’ll need to do some cheering up when you’re significant other makes it home for the day. Instead of feeling like it’s your “duty” to be happy and interesting, think of it more like you’re in this relationship to build each other up and support one another. So while the 1950’s take on this seems a little outdated, at least the core value is present: support for the one you love.
Housework
The original Good Wife’s Guide, women were expected to take charge of all of the housework. At the time, women had fewer work responsibilities and mostly stayed at home all day. However, we all know that it isn’t that way anymore. In the modern world, it’s essential to split the responsibilities and work as a team to make sure everything is getting done. Instead of it being the woman’s place to take care of the housework, it should be about splitting up the work for however, it works best for your family. After all, in your family, maybe the woman works, and the man stays at home. Isn’t it wonderful how things have changed for the better?
While some people might still value these outdated rules, it’s important to modernize them and realize how much the world around us has changed since then. Everyone needs some support from the people they love. And, in the end, we aren’t living in the 1950’s anymore, so it’s time to think about things a little (or a lot) differently.
