|
|
 |
Brian, 55, electrical engineer
Audrey, 51, homemaker
Brian and Audrey are Jeffrey's parents. They married when they were twenty-three and nineteen, stayed in their hometown in southeast Texas and raised three children. They bring an interesting perspective because they carry no assumption of equal financial responsibility.
Audrey: When Brian and I got married, the expectation was that I would be the wife, I would take care of the house, and Brian would earn the money, and if I wanted to I would work until I had kids. We got married in '76 and at that time, no one even considered that a wife wouldn't stay home with her children. But by the time we had kids a few years later, some women were choosing to keep working. Suddenly there were choices. Things changed that fast.
Brian: Political correctness today says everything should be fifty percent here, fifty percent there. They want to say everything should be equal. But for us, it goes back to God. A man is the spiritual head of the family, and a woman is the helper. Ultimately, it comes down to the man to support the family. A man should be self-sufficient. Women shouldn't be restricted from working, but they should balance it with family.
Audrey: Men by nature are providers. It's important to their psychological wellbeing to be breadwinners. Women, by nature, are nesters. They want to create a home, a nest, for the family. That's their strongest contribution. I'm not saying the roles can't reverse, but that's generally how it is. In my generation, a wife was expected to contribute a meager salary if she ever wanted to work at all, but she ran the home and took care of the kids and that was very important.
So by your standards, my meager salary and I are right on target.
Audrey: Yes. Maybe that's why we don't worry about you not making much.
If Jeffrey were your daughter and I were a man —
Audrey: Totally different situation.
Brian: Absolutely. If you were a guy, and you made what you make, and Jeffrey were our daughter, we would consider you a gold-digger.
So I can't be a gold-digger because I'm a girl?
Audrey: We don't consider you a gold-digger because you bring what you can to the table. You're bringing your personality and mindset, and what you bring to the home — you're not doing that, as far as I can tell, just with the intention of bettering your situation. The Bible teaches us that the earning as a couple is what matters, not who earns what. Nothing is yours and mine; it's ours.
n°
| GOLD-DIGGING INTERVIEWS |
|
Brian, 55, electrical engineer,
&
Audrey, 51, homemaker |
Melissa, 30, mathematician,
& Len, 60, retired music teacher |
|
|
|
| RELATED ARTICLES |
 |
That Girl? by Lynn Harris
How the Republicans fell in love with a pregnant, unwed teenager.
|
|
|
 |
Bubble Boy by Will Doig
How Buckminster Fuller combined environmentalism with high design. |
|
 |
Transient Love by Justin Clark
Homeless couples can offer each other protection — and keep each other down. |
|
|
|
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR: |
 |
Emily DePrang is a writer in Texas. She is holding Hair Mayo. |
©2008 Emily DePrang and Nerve.com |
|
|
|
