Why I Want a Husband Globally, the topic on the roles of women and men are commonly discussed in religion, politics, and countless other platforms. Often, many people focus on the burdensome life of women, and what we could do to improve their lives, but there are plenty of men who also work hard with little recognition. So, what about the men? Don’t they deserve some credit? The roles of mother and wife are rightfully praised, but too often, the hard work and good deeds of men go unnoticed. Such is the case of Judy Brady in her essay “Why I Want a Wife.” She gets swept on to her own experiences and emotions through exaggeration, repetition, bias, the either-or fallacy, and hasty generalization. Although some of the points she makes are convincing, …show more content…
She feels that her duties are oppressing, and she finds it necessary to go into full detail (which is excessive) about each of her duties. Although this is eye-opening and makes the reader appreciate what their mothers have done for them, it is also gets overwhelming. An example of this is when Brady says “When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have the house clean, prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not talk while I talk about the things that interest me and my friends” (Brady 264). She sufficiently explains her duties until a certain point where she adds rather personal frustrations. This loses the attention of the reader and makes her appear to be complaining, which, for most people, is not interesting to …show more content…
Brady highlights evidence that her husband does not care about how she feels throughout the essay, illustrated when she says “I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties. But I want a wife who will listen to me when I feel the need to explain a rather difficult point I have come across in my course studies”(Brady 264). While this may be the case for many men, it is extremely stereotypical, as well as sexist, to assume that all men are this ignorant; and this assumption is called hasty generalization. Brady lists example after example of times when she felt like she did much of the work while her husband did little to contribute. However, she only sees things from her own perspective. From her husband’s perspective, he may see her job as laid back, because she gets to remain in their comfortable home while he must remain away all day. She also has the opportunity to have more of an intimate relationship with her children, and her husband misses out on that. While men are commonly expected to work long hours to provide for their families, they are still expected to take care of obligations at home, such as time with the children, outings with their wife, and small house repairs; and this is notable indeed. Maybe what Brady is lacking in her perception is
In the short story ?Why I want a wife? by Judy Brady, she goes into detail what being a wife is like. The tedious details of day to day activities, the strain and hard work of being a ?good wife?, and the unappreciated service a wife must perform to be accepted by her husband. This story made me feel like, the author
...es clear that women are able to maintain their agency even when it seems impossible. They may not be able to make huge changes in their lives but the agency they do have allows them to manipulate situations in their favor and/or ensure their voice is heard. This fact is clear through Janie’s internal and externa rebellions in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Mrs. Ramsay’s ability to change views and her choice of language in To The Lighthouse. Overall, this demonstrates the issues with agency for wives. They often find themselves in an oppressive relationship that makes it difficult to sustain their agency, thus they must be creative in their choices in how they remain active agents. This issue is common in modernist narratives and beyond. It is a topic that needs to be explored in literature so it can be explored in the real world with real world consequences.
Edelman 's purpose in writing this essay is to show two sides: she wants to show the reader how her husband has abandoned her, but also cares to inform the perfect ideal of marriage that everyone grows up with is not completely achievable. Furthermore, Edelman wants the reader to feel sympathy for her situation and understand why it has taken such a toll on her life. She uses anecdotal evidence from her own life and how she handles the situations to get this point across. This choice impacts the article by creating a one sided slant because she never interviews her husband to find out how he is feeling about the situation. Edelman blames her husband for working more hours and not being around to help with the parenting, like they were supposed to be doing together. She explains how before her husband began working crazy hours, she too, was a working mother, but now the more and more hours he works, the more she needs to be present at home. Edelman says, “It began to make me spitting mad, the way the daily duties of parenting and home ownership started to rest entirely on me.” (53). She feels betrayed by her husband
Johnson, Miriam M. Strong Mothers, Weak Wives: The Search for Gender Equality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Print.
Both Brady and Barry are targeting different audiences through their essays. Brady is ironically sympathizing with wives everywhere who want the privileges and abilities that history and culture have given to their husbands. Many times throughout her essay she mentions wanting a wife. One time she said, " I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life"(Brady 413). She further explained by saying "I want a wife who will have the house clean, will prepare a special meal, serve it to me and my friends, and not interrupt when I talk about things that interest me and my friends"(Brady 413). Attempting to reach the more sensitive female audience, she exclaimed, "I want a wife who is sensitive to my sexual needs, a wife who makes love passionately and eagerly when I feel like it, a wife who makes sure I am satisfied"(Brady 413). She also mentions "[wanting] a wife who will not demand sexual attention when [she is] not in the mood for it"(Brady 413). Barry is speaking to the male audience, by responding snidely to negative stereotypes, and proving that we are lucky to have men. It is a commonly known fact that women think men cannot find anything in the kitchen. Many women believe, "that a man can open a refrigerator containing 463 pounds of assorted meats, poultry, cold cuts, co...
Many sexist ideas have long been accepted and have become the societal norm. In “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady the author talks about how she wants a wife to do the typically expected things of a wife for her. Brady simply lists all the things a wife in today’s age is expected to do such as “pick up after the children, and a wife who will pick up after me” (504). It is the wife duty to give herself to her kids and husband regardless of how she is ever feeling. Throughout the literary piece the author shows how the needs of the wife are no longer considered when she becomes a wife. The entire essay is stated so matter-of-factly that it really shows how accepted these absurd ideologies really
Throughout most of recorded history, women generally have endured significantly fewer career opportunities and choices, and even less legal rights, than that of men. The “weaker sex,” women were long considered naturally, both physically and mentally, inferior to men. Delicate and feeble minded, women were unable to perform any task that required muscular or intellectual development. This idea of women being inherently weaker, coupled with their natural biological role of the child bearer, resulted in the stereotype that “a woman’s place is in the home.” Therefore, wife and mother were the major social roles and significant professions assigned to women, and were the ways in which women identified and expressed themselves. However, women’s history has also seen many instances in which these ideas were challenged-where women (and some men) fought for, and to a large degree accomplished, a re-evaluation of traditional views of their role in society.
College degrees, jobs, and income stream are all quantifiable items, however, a gauge on work-life balance, parenting abilities, and dedication at home cannot be measured by a number. In the past, men have been viewed as the backbone of the family. The typical day consists of getting up the earliest, going to work, coming home late at night, maybe missing out on trivial matters, but ultimately paying the bills. As time progresses, roles in households have shifted significantly. Now more than ever women are extremely active in the workforce, local communities, and politics. The obstacles faced by men and women are inherently different, but men seem to fall under an intensified microscope when it comes to intertwining family life with a career. Richard Dorment dives deep into these issues in his piece, "Why Men Still Can't Have It All." Although the argument may seem bias in favoring the rigorous lifestyle of men, the
In many instances, women and children have no say so as to what goes on inside the home. Whatever the father believed is what their children and wife’s had to conform to. Many women, such as Lucy Knox and Abigail Adams, began challenging their husbands for respect and partial control in their union and homes. Despite gains in rights and divorce, republican society still defined women’s roles exclusively in terms of mother, wife, and homemaker. Any other roles pursued would seem unnatural and threatening.
...women’s roles in society and in the household are. It is quite interesting on how many biased readers and writers we have in this world. There are so many people so quick to label women and men based on very simplistic roles in society. Men believe women have something to prove or justify, but only in the household. Overall, I really enjoyed interpreting this short story and literary reviews by Ann Oakley and Karen Ford.
This source provided the unique perspective of what was thought to be the perfect household, with a man who worked and a wife who cooked and cleaned. However, it also showed how a woman could also do what a man can do, and in some cases they could do it even better. This work is appropriate to use in this essay because it shows how men talked down to their wives as if they were children. This work shows the gradual progression of woman equality and how a woman is able to make her own decisions without her husband’s input.
“Not too long ago a male friend of mine appeared on the scene fresh from a recent divorce. He had one child, who is, of course, with his ex-wife. He is look- ing for another wife (Brady),” which led Judy to reveal the treatment and roles of women defined by men. The male friend of Brady is looking for a wife despite the child that he had is with his ex-wife. This proves that not only children are dependent on women, but men are too because of their selfish reasons to get food, a clean house, kids, and other physical needs from their wife. As Brady states that, “I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complains about a wife’s duties,” (Brady) it proves that men’s expectation are so high, because of their selfish character who tends to eliminate the concerns of a wife. As a
... last 60 years are the roles that each spouse play in the relationship. In earlier days, women were expected to clean house, cook, stay at home with the children, and wait hand and foot on their husbands. But, within the last 60 years women have become key assets to the work force. Men don’t necessarily expect women to be their live in maids anymore. Both men and women in 2014 cook, clean, and take care of the children. I now see more men with their children at sporting events, and taking them to and from practice. Now, roles have changed. In today’s world men and women share the responsibilities of taking care of their family. A lot has changed since 1970 within the American family, and I think America has finally figured it out. Taking care of a family can be tough at times, but if there are two to share the responsibilities, then it seems to work a lot smoother.
During World War II, a lot of America women became Rosy the Riveter. When the war ended and the men returned home, they wanted to return to the traditional ways but many women did not want to give up their jobs and the supply of money they were making. This created a huge shift in the role of women in society that is still taking effect today (Griffiths et al., 2015). The traditional gender roles are still believed to work by some functionalists (Shepard, 1993). Famed sociologists Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales believed that “Families… require one adult in an ‘instrumental’ role and another adult in an ‘expressive’ role. The husband-father, who usually assumes the instrumental role, is responsible for family in the occupational, political, and economic situations. In preforming the expressive role, the wife-mother is concerned with maintaining relationships within the family, taking care of children, and providing emotional security for all family members”(pg. 300). Even though this may have worked at one time, many sociologists do not believe with Parsons and Bales; they think that modern society treats people not based on their role, but their abilities. Many sociologists believe that the functionalist perspective is outdated and only explains how gender roles came to be, not what they
Since the 1950’s, women have been seen as very dainty and sensitive creatures who are meant to be silent partners to their mates. A woman’s place was in the home-cooking, cleaning and watching after her children. Women were to get up every morning and prepare lunches for their breadwinning husbands, as well as wake and dress the children for school, cook breakfast, do housework and have a hot meal on the table when her husband was to return home. Women have stepped down to their traditional roles as housewife and caretaker, and it has raised many issues in society today. It was considered a woman’s job to be a good cook and be a whiz with a broom, in fact, it is what made them so darn attractive. Times, they are a changing. In fact, the U.S Department of Labor states that in the year 2008, women will make up 48% of the work force. That means that more women will be going to college and getting and education, as well as heading out into the workforce to make a name for themselves.