Judy Brady

Judy Brady, "Why [Still] I Want a Wife"

Judy Brady (1937- ) was born in San Francisco and earned a B.F.A. from the University of Iowa in 1962. Brady's a feminist, a political and environmental activist—especially having to do with cancer-related issues, and a freelance writer. She's edited both Women and Cancer (1990) and One in Three: Women with Cancer Confront an Epidemic (1991). Brady's work has also appeared in periodicals such as Greenpeace Magazine and The Women's Review of Books. Her classic satirical essay "Why I Want a Wife" was first published in the first issue of Ms. Magazine in 1972 and reprinted as "Why I [Still] Want a Wife" in Ms. in 1990.

CONTENT

1. What is the main subject of the second paragraph?
2. How does the author describe a wife's role regarding sexual needs?
3. How are household chores broken down in this essay? Generalize them, and then give examples.
4. According to Brady, what are a wife's social duties?
5. What does this essay say, and imply, about divorce? How do the sex roles presented define divorce?

STRATEGY AND STYLE

1. The words I want a wife are repeated through this essay with such frequency that the repetition takes on a chant-like quality. What does this say about the author's view of the role of the wife in a relationship?
2. Discuss how this piece can be classified as a definition essay. Make sure that you make clear the author's main definition and her types of support.
3. What is Brady doing while thinking of her recently divorced friend? Why is that action particularly suited to her introduction?
4. Take a look at the last line of the essay. What thought does it convey? Name three ways the author adds emphasis to the thought.

1. Do you want a wife? Explain. How might you relate your feelings about this topic to your reading?
2. Write an essay describing your perfect partner. Do you already know this person? If so, what is the nature of your relationship and why is it perfect? If you haven't met this person yet, what traits are you looking for? How are you going to find him or her?

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING

1. Pick a wife from a television show with which you're familiar. Which show did you pick? What's the wife's name? What are her main characteristics? How similar or different is she from the picture you've got from your reading?
2. Does this essay suggest that marriage is a defunct institution? Write an essay using that general proposition as your thesis, stated either positively or negatively. Then, using your reading and your own views, thoroughly support your position.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

This essay was originally published in 1972. Pick a couple of related issues to research—for example, the number of working wives, wives returning to college, the divorce rate, single-mother families—to see how things have changed over the intervening years. How did you research enhance your understanding of the relevant issues presented in the essay?

WEB CONNECTION

Interested in putting Brady's work into a broader cultural context? Visit this online archive at Duke University's Special Collections Library. There, you'll find an enormous database of documents about the Women's Liberation Movement.

LINKS

Biographical

This page about the Greenaction Advisory Board, of which the author is a member, contains some biographical information about Brady.

Brady was a part of a group that filed a petition about food safety with the Food and Drug Administration. Read more about the cause here.

Bibliographical

Brady's edited a book called One in Three: Women with Cancer Confront an Epidemic. This page has some information about the book, including short reviews from Library Journal and Publishers' Weekly.

Here is a speech Brady wrote called "Make the Link: Toxic Chemicals, Hormone Disruption and the Breast Cancer Epidemic." She gave the speech before the Women's Health Action Network. Where can you find out more about that organization?

Cultural

Want to discuss feminist issues online? Click over to Choices, where you find chat areas and a bunch of bulletin boards.

Read this article, about feminist views of marriage , in which both Gloria Steinem and Judy Brady play a role. How do the ideas of marriage presented here stack up with your own views?

How about a visit to the homepage of Ms. Magazine? Brady has had a long relationship with the publication, and online you'll find articles, a bulletin board, and links of feminist interest.