I was giving information at my new medical clinic and they asked me, among other questions, what my occupation was. I answered, “Homemaker.” I still cringe a bit when I say it, probably mostly because I’m worried that the person I’m talking to will think homemakers are lame. (I read a study recently that said much of America’s population thinks homemakers contribute to society the same as the elderly, blind, and retarded. It’s a terrible study on many fronts, but I won’t go into all that here.)
The girl I was giving the information to reviewed the information and, when she got to occupation, said “Unemployed.” I stopped her. I said, “No, I’m not unemployed, I’m a homemaker.” And she said, “Well, you don’t have a job, so that would make you unemployed.” I responded that the word “unemployed” insinuated that I was without or looking for work, and that that was not the case.
She was clearly frustrated with me at this point and explained that her pulldown menu didn’t have “homemaker” on it. So, I told her to select “education” or “maid” or “counselor” or “manager” or some other job that described a sliver of what I do. She said she couldn’t do that because it would be lying. So, I copped out a bit (poor girl) and said, “I’ve been a teacher for many years, I have my master’s degree in education, why don’t you just mark me as ‘Education’ then.” She was satisfied with that.
Ugh. I hate stuff like this.
Steph Lewis's Blog
That’s awful! Since you refer to her as a “girl,” I assume she was young. I sort of hope that some day she decides to stay home with her children and ends up remembering that conversation and cringing. And I think the medical clinic needs to update the menus.
An EMR (electronic medical record) has no need for this info. I always wonder why software systems collect data they don’t need. I hope you didn’t give them your SSN.
But Jeff, that’s an easy and universally unique key to use, why wouldn’t they just use the SSN?( end sarcasm)
In all seriousness, that was a pretty lame scenario, both for the fact that the girl couldn’t get past the “but it’s not an option on my drop down” issue and that she didn’t see the huge contrast between unemployed and homemaker.
I read this to Matt and half way through he started getting visibly angry, stood up, started pacing, and said to contact the people who made that application and tell them to add to the pop up. Then he started saying non-legible words like ugh, frak, and then he got so upset he left the room.
— I now know he left the room to post his own comment so I’ll let him tell you the ideas for the pop up menu he had…. 
Wow. I’m sorry there are idiots still out there. I really hope that someday I have the stamina, brilliance, energy, knowhow, and confidence to do what you do everyday. Supposedly, anyone can have kids – drop them off at day care and let the system do the work – thus breeding more idiots. It takes someone amazing to keep all the balls from falling to the ground, raise (not watch grow, but actually raise) a child, keep up with the house, and provide a loving and warm environment for your husband to want to come home to everyday. I’d easily say it’s the hardest job in the world because you don’t have a manager coming down on you if you miss a deadline. And, you might not always see the payoff for decades. To be honest, most people don’t have what it takes to be a “homemaker”.
This is just utterly ridiculous. Someone tells me they’re a Homemaker, I respond with the appropriate level of respect and admiration. It’s probably the toughest job there is, there are no vacations, and the compensation can really suck sometimes.
A medical facility should certainly have a category for Homemaker or, at least, “Other”. That way, the cop-out would be on their part, not yours. Heck, they shouldn’t even care about your occupation.
It does, however, go to show what has been accomplished in just a few short decades: the amount of respect you are due is directly proportional to your (family’s) net worth, or your position on the corporate ladder. Being a gifted educator of your children, designer of your home, architect of your family, psychologist to your spouse — well, those are just outdated, unworthy pursuits now.
Is it any wonder the American Family is in crisis?