Barefoot and pregnant

"Barefoot and pregnant" is a figure of speech most commonly associated with the idea that women should not work outside the home and should have many children during their reproductive years.

"[1] By the mid 20th century, the phrase had passed into common parlance, so much so that an article from 1949 states: "By early 1949, TWA was—in the words of its new president, Ralph S. Damon—both 'barefoot and pregnant.

September 18, 2003), the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a woman who allegedly overheard her manager using the phrase could take her case to a jury.

However, the court also dismissed the remaining claims on summary judgment with respect to both discrimination and retaliation against DATCP for lack of evidence.

The phrase is used to describe women unable to function as responsible, adult mothers, either by (a) oppression and/or (b) failure by the female to meet developmental challenges and reach adulthood.