The Descent of Man.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 144, 19 June 1931, Page 6

The Descent of Man.

It Occurs to Me.

RELIEF WORKER said in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, that he would never have a woman maintaining him. But if he had lived America he might not have bridled quite so much at the idea, for there the descent of man is an understood thing. In the United States the modern young woman, looking at many of the tragedies of the depression, determines that the well-being of her family shall not depend upon one job only—her husband’s. She gets one for herself also. Indeed, a bride’s earning power is sometimes an important factor in a match, and in the pinch of economic necessity, many a home is kept going by the young wife in the office or shop. In defence of this practice it should be remembered that America has no general unemployment insurance schemes, and the desire to .appear as well off as the next person makes it difficult to be thrifty. “To put it gently,” says one writer from the States, “ this custom often leads to confusion. The dewy-eyed and baby-faced Miss Z (for women keep their single names for their vocations), ■who flutters through a Wall Street office without a care in the world, turns out to be the faithful stay of an out-of-work husband in the suburbs.” The bad consequences of this to the children of the family, if there are any children, come to our minds immediately, but let it be understood that the woman who enjoys economic independence and fulfills her destiny in the home no longer suffers from any old inferiority complex. B.E.S.