Housework has always been one of the main issues of feminist debates. The aim of the article is to show how the housewife became the subject of political debate. The article focuses on the feminist and political discourse surrounding household chores in post-war Czechoslovakia (1945–1947). Drawing on an analysis of the journal Our Household (Naše domácnost) and discussions in parliament, we argue that after WWII the women’s movement and the National Socialists called for the recognition of domestic work as equal to occupations outside the home. This article contributes to the debates about the recognition of housework by showing how the issue of housework was addressed in a particular period of Czech history and what strategies were employed to improve the representation of household chores and the position of housewives in society
During the last couple of decades, paid childcare has become one of the central issues of feminist research. Agencies mediating childcare are a relatively new actor in childcare arrangements in the Czech Republic. This article argues that these agencies do not fill a gap in the market by offering childcare. Far from providing simple supply that reacts to a market demand, the agencies create the demand for specific care. Drawing upon qualitative research conducted with owners of these agencies, the text looks into the ways in which childcare is constructed. The issues of qualified, specialized, and professionalized care are discussed. The article aims to show that childcare in the agencies is deconstructed as a natural female activity and is reconstructed as a gendered activity requiring particular skills that are subjected to professional screening., Adéla Souralová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This paper focuses on the discourse of the second shift and domestic work in the Czechoslovakia presented by journals of women´s organizations, 1945-1948. After the mobilisation of the workforce in the post-war Czechoslovakia, women started to be encouraged to take up paid jobs. Together with the rising number of women in paid jobs the so called second shift was established. That means that women were burdened with two roles: those of breadwinners and housewives. The help offered by women´s organizations was represented by the delegation of housework on other women. The solution of the lack of the domestic help consisted in qualification and professionalization, thus establishing this job as a regular one. The establishment of the institution with a suitable name "Liberated Household" was perceived as the ideal solution.