Kindle
$16.99
Available instantly
Audiobook
$0.00
with membership
Hardcover
$24.99
$24.99 with 17 percent savings
List Price: $30.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
FREE International Returns
No Import Charges & $7.83 Shipping to Hong Kong Details

Shipping & Fee Details

Price $24.99
AmazonGlobal Shipping $7.83
Estimated Import Charges $0.00
Total $32.82

FREE delivery Tuesday, July 9 to Hong Kong on eligible orders over $49. Order within 21 hrs 58 mins
Or fastest delivery Monday, July 8
In Stock
$$24.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Lisa Selin Davis
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead Hardcover – March 5, 2024

by Lisa Selin Davis (Author)
3.6 3.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$24.99","priceAmount":24.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Je2iKn48yd1GrHLa47OLwazikTN6xG4NmVyYaRGIeMpkNbTVG3sok0DnNYtO2y95UedUl3tEy0JQqpMH%2F3UQreIkg7EFiLD7CKKyF59Rt7nsfmPPIWVzRl4ug55UaDJ6%2B3J4jrth7j1qe1r2DbFr2YwTSxsjpCUV1hYOZA1dub4BnLqpoRJDrA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Amazon's Best Nonfiction Book of the Month for March 2024

Discover the complete social history of the housewife archetype, from colonial America to the 20th century, and re-examine common myths about the “modern woman.”
 
The notion of “housewife” evokes strong reactions. For some, it’s nostalgia for a bygone era, simpler and better times when men were breadwinners and women remained home with the kids. For others, it’s a sexist, oppressive stereotype of women’s work. Either way, housewife is a long outdated concept—or is it?
  
Lisa Selin Davis, known for her smart, viral, feminist, cultural takes, argues that the “breadwinner vs. homemaker” divide is a myth. She charts examples from prehistoric female hunters to working class housewives in the 1930s, from First Ladies to 21st century stay-at-home moms, on a search for answers to the problems of what is referred to as women’s work and motherhood. Davis discovers that women have been sold a lie about what families should be. Housewife unveils a truth: interdependence, rather than independence, is the American way.  
 
The book is a clarion call for all women—married or single, mothers or childless—and for men, too, to push for liberation.  In Housewife, Davis builds a case for systemic, cultural, and personal change, to encourage women to have the power to choose the best path for themselves.
 
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Legacy Lit
  4. Publication date
    March 5, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    5.85 x 1.06 x 8.6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1538722887
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1538722886
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details

Frequently bought together

Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead
$24.99
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 9
In Stock
Sold by Amazon Export Sales LLC and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different
$10.29
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 9
Only 4 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Strong Sword and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Control
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. Tomboy: The Surprising History and Future of Girls Who Dare to Be Different
    Lisa Selin Davis
    4.5 out of 5 stars 103
    Paperback
    $10.29
    Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 9
    FREE Shipping on orders over $49 shipped by Amazon
    Only 4 left in stock - order soon.
  2. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality
    Amanda Montell
    4.1 out of 5 stars 200
    Hardcover
    $20.07
    Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 9
    FREE Shipping on orders over $49 shipped by Amazon
  3. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
  4. PlantYou: 140+ Ridiculously Easy, Amazingly Delicious Plant-Based Oil-Free Recipes
  5. Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics (Volume 78) (California Studies in Food and Culture)
    Marion Nestle
    4.5 out of 5 stars 35
    Hardcover
    $13.10
    Get it as soon as Tuesday, Jul 9
    FREE Shipping on orders over $49 shipped by Amazon
    Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Next page

Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
3.6 out of 5
7 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Melissa R.
5.0 out of 5 stars On Housewife--from a woman who has been there
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2024
This is a fascinating read. The author first came to my attention through her Substack--so I decided to purchase this book.
Lisa examines the history of "women's work"--it wasn't always this way. She also gives real life examples of how women find balance between their work outside the home and their unpaid work in the home--child rearing, domestic chores, etc. Bottom line: it needs to be collaborative. Parents need to co-parent, to co-manage their children and household. There is no one-size-fits all solution. What about single parents? Not everyone has a partner--or can afford to pay for household help.
I agree that our society needs to provide more help so that women (who need or want to work outside the home) can have flexibility in work schedules--along with affordable childcare.
Helpful
 Report
MM
5.0 out of 5 stars Validating and Informative Must Read for Women
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024
Finally, what I would call a non-polarizing look at the work women do! 5 glowing stars to Housewife! Be it working in the home or out of the home, women are faced with a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation. All women are trying their hardest to be happy and make life work for their family and I think Lisa Selin Davis drives this point home. In her beautiful look at women through centuries, Housewife allows readers to understand that with greater freedoms have come greater expectations.

I loved the history explored in the book. I was fascinated learning about prehistoric women being involved in hunting, to finding out that many lobotomies were performed on housewives! Selin Davis details women's history in a bipartisan way that I believe is much needed. Too many feminist books have been polarizing in their approach and have felt like a lot of complaining and passing the buck to someone else to do the work. Although there's no easy way to solve the issues that women face, it is helpful to understand that there is not a one size fits all approach to motherhood. How incredibly validating to all the women who keep our society going whether it's raising the next generation, working outside the home, or something in between.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Legacy Lit, and Net Galley for the ARC of this book!
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Alden Park
5.0 out of 5 stars So grateful for this
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024
I learned so much from this book and I am so grateful for it! I have been trying to explain to women who are regretting staying home and things on the other side aren't much better. I have a masters degree and I make a paltry sum. I do what many moms do and work in a school. I am still dependent on my husbands income and therefore still doing all the housework.
Life is rough.
I want everyone to read this.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
brownbagger
2.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like this book but.
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2024
Nope. The author - although a good writer - basically has a socialist vision: moms need government-subsidized universal child care in order to make their lives better. But my god - look at the disaster that is public schools. This is the last thing our country needs. And why is the term “tradwife” included? Not sure who the intended audience for this book is…. I was disappointed.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report