barefoot and pregnant

English

Adjective

barefoot and pregnant (not comparable)

1. (derogatory, of women) Kept at home to perform the traditional duties expected of women.
   • 1958, Joseph H Peck, All about men:

     "The only way to keep a woman happy," he said, "is to keep her barefoot and pregnant."

   • 1994, Steven Bayme, Gladys Rosen, The Jewish family and Jewish continuity:

     Ms. Frank finds it a strange, if not a perverse coincidence that, after all these centuries of Jewish history, just when Jewish women are demanding greater and more meaningful participation in Jewish religious and communal life, certain segments of the Jewish community are loudly hitting the old "barefoot and pregnant motif."

   • 2007, Edward M Tauber, Jim Smoke, Finding the Right One After Divorce:

     I was to stay the ol' barefoot and pregnant wife. And I saw no need for that. I found myself in a rut. Get up, fix breakfast, send hubby off to work...

   • 2007, Greg J Duncan, Aletha C Huston, Thomas S Weisner, Higher ground: New Hope for the working poor and their children:

     "He wanted me barefoot and pregnant," she said. But staying home was driving her crazy.

Further reading

• “How “Barefoot and Pregnant” Became a Dark American Joke” by Katherine Jamieson, published in Slate (2022-10-22)