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"Barefoot and pregnant" is a phrase most commonly associated with the controversial idea that women should not work outside the home and should have many children during their reproductive years. It has several other meanings as well. It is a figure of speech.

The phrase "barefoot and pregnant" was probably first used sometime in the late 1940s. An article from 1949 states, "By early 1949, TWA was—in the words of its new president, Ralph S. Damon—both 'barefoot and pregnant.'" Its usage may date as early as the 1910s. An article published in 1958 states the phrase was first used by a "Dr. Hertzler" 40 years earlier. "Some forty years ago, Dr. Hertzler advanced a hypothesis which young women of today seem bent on proving correct. 'The only way to keep a woman happy,' he said, 'is to keep her barefoot and pregnant.'"

Many of the women that I know consider 'B&P' to be a great insult and spiral off into insta-rage when it is brought up. On the other hand, many of the women that I know are happy homemakers who couldn't imagine anything better to do with their lives than be stay-at-home moms. Many will laugh when they hear 'B&P' and wear the moniker proudly.

It's the same as the word bitch. Some women take offense to the word, some see it as a badge of honor.

One of my best friends is a fiercely competitive businesswoman and her little sister is a stay at home mom with three kids. The little sister is one of the happiest people you've ever seen, she even enjoys vacuuming and doing laundry because she realizes that she's creating a happy, healthy home for her family and that's what's most important to her. She had the opportunity to choose a career, she chose full-time mom. Every day for this chick is a joy.

Her older sister HATES the life that she's chosen because she's convinced that her sister has been brainwashed by society and is being taken advantage of by her husband. I couldn't disagree more. She's not a fifteen year old sister-wife for crying out loud, she's a happily married mom. When that became a bad thing I have no idea...