Baby Boomers wanted ? New Domesticity

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Do you fit in here?

I?m 29, which puts me at the oldest end of Generation Y (for what that?s worth). My mom?s 56, which places her solidly in the Baby Boomer camp. Lately I?ve been talking with some of her same-age friends about New Domesticity, which has been incredibly interesting. A few of them have talked about how they got into hardcore domestic DIY during the 1970s ?back to the land? movement ? making bread and yogurt, sewing their own clothes, etc. ? and see today?s New Domesticity as a close cousin of that movement, complete with the focus on environmentalism and the anti-corporate attitudes. Others seem less comfortable with the idea of ?re-glorifying? the domestic sphere, worried that too much focus on the pleasures of home will keep young women from gaining financial and professional equality with men. Many of these women had to battle hard to achieve their own career goals in an era where women had a steep uphill climb in the workplace, and many of them had to consciously reject their own mothers? 1950s-style homemakerdom in order to do this. Some of these women have been divorced (or seen their friends divorce), and worry that women my age are too cavalier in assuming that their contemporary ?companionate marriages? are divorce- or affair-proof.

It?s also been fascinating to talk to 20- and 30-something women about how their mothers? lives have affected the way they choose to live theirs. A number of women have talked about how seeing the ?crazy stress? or ?constant hurry? of growing up in a two-career family has made them think hard about what really matters to them. This doesn?t necessarily mean they?ve quit their jobs to stay home with their kids (though some have); it might simply mean worrying less about conventional success and more about quality time (say, working a 40-hour week and having time to cook dinner at night rather than working the 60-hour week that might get them a quicker promotion). ?Research bears this out: members of Generation Y (women AND men) are dramatically less likely to define themselves as ?work-oriented? and more likely to define themselves as ?family-oriented? than Baby Boomers.

Though it?s always tricky to make sweeping proclamations about generations, I do think there?s something to the idea that New Domesticity is a reaction ? positive or negative ? to the lives of our own parents. So I?m hoping to talk to some more ?women of Baby Boomer age or older about their feelings on domesticity, work and feminism. If any of you readers out there are, say, 50 or older (or you know someone who is), and would like to chat, drop me a line!

Source: http://newdomesticity.com/?p=250&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=baby-boomers-wanted

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