Fundie-lite and female education, careers

[Terrie]

My aunt and uncle are fundie, though my aunt can wear pants, have short hair, etc and the church allows divorce. Their church has a boarding school, which they sent their kids to, and runs a "college" where the guys can get a degree to be a minister in that church, and both guys and gals can get a degree to teach in church-run schools. My cousin got his teaching "degree" from there, and he was actually disappointed when his wife decided to drop out when they got married, rather than finishing her teaching degree. He has since left teaching dude to church politics, and his wife teaches piano out of their home. Basically, you have options as a woman, but they're sort of considered second-class and less than ideal.

[YPestis]

Even though my husband was unemployed when we first found out, the focus was more on getting him a job we could live on rather than me planning maternity leave and him being a stay at home dad or even me going back to work. My job paid twice what his previous and current ones did and had better benefits and I had a second job that paid about what he made, but somehow it made more since to try to live on 1/4 of our previous income rather than to keep working or plan on hubby being a stay-at-home dad. I wonder if we would have done things differently if I had been raised differently.

Fundies often argue that since the woman's income is piddly, families are better off with a SAHM than paying for daycare. However, when women earn MORE than their husbands, it destroys that argument. I rarely hear fundies talk their way through the wife-make-more scenerio. These days, women making more is increasingly common. At some point, fundies will need to start talking about how families can balance the quiverful lifestyle with an income earning wife. The old breadwinner ideal they espouse only worked back when all the good jobs were had by men. With those opportunities extended to women, not even fundie couples can resist the lure of a good income, even if earned by the wimmin.

[emmiedahl]

Fundies often argue that since the woman's income is piddly, families are better off with a SAHM than paying for daycare. However, when women earn MORE than their husbands, it destroys that argument. I rarely hear fundies talk their way through the wife-make-more scenerio. These days, women making more is increasingly common. At some point, fundies will need to start talking about how families can balance the quiverful lifestyle with an income earning wife. The old breadwinner ideal they espouse only worked back when all the good jobs were had by men. With those opportunities extended to women, not even fundie couples can resist the lure of a good income, even if earned by the wimmin.

I have heard some fundies insist that a woman who has a high earning career is in effect stealing from the man who should have had it. So, she is actually forcing another woman to work by working herself, or something like that.

[YPestis]

I have heard some fundies insist that a woman who has a high earning career is in effect stealing from the man who should have had it. So, she is actually forcing another woman to work by working herself, or something like that.

Yeah, I've heard that too, with fundies complaining about working woman (in the general abstract sense). However, I can't imagine a pastor telling one of his congregants that the wife should quit her job which is 70% of the family income so that Bob over there can (magically) be employed now (because that's how the job market works). Can any family honestly give up the majority of their income so that the job can magically float over to an unemployed male (that they don't even know)?

The way I see it is many fundies may be upset over working mothers and such, but if they were faced with a wife that can provide very well and the husband can't, I bet quite a few couples won't be jumping to get the wife back into the kitchen.

[dirtyhippiegirl]

Nursing seems popular with my fundie lite friends -- hell, I even went to nursing school with two evangelical Pentecostals. I don't know why. I deal with a lot of penis, and your typical 12-hour hospital shift is anything but family friendly. Some of that thought may just have to do with people yammering (incorrectly) about how nursing is recession proof, easy to find a job in, etc. It's seen as sensible, when other pink collar jobs are getting cut back (teaching) or made obsolete through technology (secretarial work).