Wife acceptance factor

Wife acceptance factor, wife approval factor, or wife appeal factor

WAF is seen by some people a sexist term.^[3][4] People have also used the non-gender-specific term significant other acceptance parameters (SOAP).^[5]

History

Larry Greenhill first used the term "Wife Acceptance Factor" in September 1983, writing for Stereophile magazine, and credited fellow reviewer and music professor Lewis Lipnick with the coining of the term.^[6] The majority of Stereophile subscribers in the late 1980s were men.^[7]

Women in the high fidelity hobbyist community have complained about the sexism in the community that is reflected by use of the phrase WAF.^[8]

Radio

At the start of the

A way of fitting radio into a home's existing decor was disguising receivers as furniture, a topic discussed in the press as early as 1923. As self-contained, preassembled radios using AC power became available, manufacturers recognized the importance of what a 1924 Radio Broadcast article's headline described as "Making Radio Attractive to Women". Radio News in 1926 held a contest to design the ideal radio receiver exterior; the winning women's entry suggested that it be useful as furniture.^[9]

As women increasingly influenced radio purchases, and the devices moved from the man's den to the living room, a 1927 article in Radio Broadcast stated that a "receiver, to be fully appreciated by the female half of the domestic republic, must be encased in housings which are esthetically as well as technically satisfactory". Elaborate radio cabinets often composed most of the price difference between models that used similar electronic components. The components could be replaced while retaining the cabinet as permanent furniture; they had doors that completely hid the radio when not in use. After 1930, elaborate cabinets became less common as newer, smaller table radios became popular, and because the technology was widely accepted by men and women.^[9]

References