Judy Brady; I Want a Wife

Judy Brady is the author of the essay ‘I want a Wife’. Women have undergone a lot of gender discrimination and stereotyping, a position that Brandy strongly exposes. She depicts this aspect using a lot of honesty and humor, rejecting the fact that there is an equal treatment to women as it is to men.

In the American culture, feminism and women’s rights has been an issue over the years. There were various conventions on women’s rights held in New York. This was sparked off by the fact women were not given space and a chance to express their feelings about anti slavery. This was back then in 1948. Currently, many people are still of the opinion that women are not accorded equal rights as the males and that they have limited opportunities. This gender parity feeling has led to a tussle of equality between the male and female. This is what inspired Brandy in writing her essay.

In the essay which she wrote in 1971, Brandy described the various roles of women in the society. She ironically states her reasons of wanting a wife based on the tasks that the wife is usually burdened with doing in the daily life. She further moves to discussing the roles of wives in peculiar circumstances including in vocations and dinner parties. In her essay, Brandy brands a wife as a very powerful being in the earth. All that she was trying to explain is the fact that the female gender is greatly disadvantaged and that the role of women is simply to be wives and companions of the men. However, since she wrote her essay, I tend to believe that this role of the women in the society has changed. Despite this fact, a lot of people to date still hold onto the fact that women are not equally treated as the men are. In the essay, Brandy was offering  food for thought. She was challenging the society to rethink what the roles of the women in the society are.

 

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Brandy’s explanation of the duties of women is not gentle. She portrays the duties as being a great burden to the wife. For instance, she speaks of the duties of the wife being to raise the children well, to ensure that the house is clean, monitoring the movements and locations of everyone and ensuring that everyone is whenever he or she is supposed to be at the correct time and doing the right thing. She touches on the sexual duties of the wife, insinuating the aspect of wives being used as sexual tools by the men.

Brandy uses an example in her essay, stating that she wants a wife who will not be bothered by complaining about her duties. She further states her desire to have a wife that listens all along. She says that she wants a wife who will help in the typing work of her papers and help with the research of her work. In this case, Brandy depicts the fact that the duties of the wife are varied while that of the male is strictly academic or educational duties. This creates a perception that the wife should not be burdened with a lot of duties simply because she is a wife. Brandy’s essay basically touches on the fact that the women gender is discriminated against and is seen as a minor gender as compared to men. In the essay, she dwells on the tasks that women do have and speaks less on the burden on men. The picture created is the female gender is supposed to be offering a helping hand to the male gender in a more disadvantaged situation.

Brandy states at some point that she is in need of a wife who will attend to the children well, arranges for the schooling of the children, takes them out to the zoo and parks and takes care of their social life among other responsibilities. She further states her desire for a wife who shall be responsible and  concerned about the kids in the event that they fall sick and who takes care of them in special needs. In saying this, Brandy aims at explaining the fact that the responsibility of the wife is often taking care of children and ensuring that there is a smooth running of things in the home. I think the roles that she highlights do not compromise on equality and opportunities of the female gender, what she explains is more of the motherly responsibility as opposed to gender parity. However, I believed her main aim was to target those who bear feminist views.

Conclusion

I think Brandy was successful in addressing her stance on gender parity. Her unique style of writing in which she uses a speaker to address the audience was on point. The sarcasm in the tone of her essay creates that feeling of consideration for a second thought about the position of the females in the society. She successfully draws the wife as the only person who is always looked at and considered being able to take care of virtually everything in the home.