Life in the fifties, we can say, is different than what life has turned into today. Most couples got married in their early twenties, had children and “lived happily ever after”. The men went out and worked (the instrumental role), their salary usually covered the household expenses. The women stayed home (the expressive role), raised the children and took care of the house. Life was very simple. As time went on, the roles of the household began to shift with more and more women were entering the workforce. (Kunz 5-19) The three articles discussed present the differences and surprisingly similarities of past and present households. In May 1955, Housekeeping Monthly published an article titled The Good Wife’s Guide. This article provided eighteen tips for women; what they should be performing in the home and how to keep their husbands happy. “Have dinner ready”, “Clear away clutter”, and “Don’t ask him questions about his actions…” are just three of the eighteen instructions. (Housekeeping Monthly) One reason this article could have been so readily accepted, was due to the simplicity of life in that era. Women rarely voiced their opinions or challenged the gender norms. Therefore, the author’s intent could have been, “let’s give women tips on how to make their husbands happier and keep the households in order”. However, taking into consideration the gender norm of the era and contrasting it to the twenty-first century certainly brings up a host of issues when taking into consideration that the majority of today’s families are dual income earners. Although the article did not disclose the gender of its author, one can only assume it was a male. It would be difficult to fathom a female, at least by today’s defin... ... middle of paper ... ...robably go through several more changes in the workforce, household as well as in our legal system. We will see many more similar articles to these three. However, one thing is certain, women will still be seen as the domestic housewife while the man as the breadwinner of the family. Works Cited Kunz, Jenifer. Think Marriages & Families. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Print. Laquer Estin, Ann. "Golden Anniversary Reflections: Changes in Marriages After Fifty Years."Family Law Quarterly 42.3: 333-52. Family Studies Abstracts. Web. 02 Mar. 2011. Rampell, Catherine. "As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force." The New York Times. Feb. 2009. Web. Mar. 2011. . "The Good Wife's Guide." J-Walk & Associates Home Page. Web. Mar. 2011. .
As century pass by generation also pass their traditional values to the next generation. some people still think the way their ancestors thought and believe in what they believed in. During the beginning of 1890 people couldn’t have premarital sex, women had to be the caretaker while men was the breadwinner. during this century those perspective have changed argued Stephanie Coontz the author of “The American Family”. Coontz believe women should have more freedom and there should be gender equality. Robert Kuttner, the author of “The Politics of Family” also believe that women should not be only the caretaker but whatever they want as a career. Robert Kuttner 's text does support Stephanie Coontz’ arguments about the issues related to traditional
...ulture has become more gender-neutral and gender roles have become less of a determining factor in parenting and work. According to Scott William’s article about Stay-at-Home Dads on Family Life, he stated that half a century ago, only a few couples would have considered having the husband stay at home while the wife works, but now many couples actually don’t have a problem with that. These couples look at more important criteria such as income potential and work benefits, career flexibility, and who seems to be the best suited to manage the home and relate best with the children. The male/female stereotypes will continue to be joked around about but that’s not what is important. What is important is that people are aware that gender roles have shifted throughout the progression of American history, have transformed the American family and will continue to do so.
Wake-up, make breakfast, wake the children, make sure everyone eats enough before work/school, kiss each out the door either off to school or to work, load the dishwasher, start a load of clothes, fold a load of clothes, put clothes away, vacuum, sweep the kitchen floor, walk the dog, run some errands, arrive home before the kids, unload the dishwasher and start dinner, etc. The daily routine of a 1950’s house wife can be grueling. There’s so much to do cram in to one day, however, the routine become monotonous. In fact, it becomes extremely cookie cutter after a while and the only thing one can think to ask is—why? And who—as in, who makes these rules for the house wife? Why must a woman clean and cook all day if they stay home while their
Since most men have mothers to cater to their every need up until the time they move out, they have outrageous expectations of how a wife should act and what duties she should perform. Judy Brady, who is a wife and mother, wrote the essay "I Want a Wife" to explain what men want in a wife. She discusses the different skills a wife needs to possess for a man to consider her a good wife. Brady’s use of repetition, constant sarcasm, and defensive word choice throughout her essay makes it successful by relating to women’s frustrations of being a wife.
Roles seem to be changing gradually over time and no one is sure if this will be a positive or negative effect for the future. Women have come a long way from being house wife’s and being under the control of men.
Lamanna, M. A., & Riedmann, A. (2012). Marriages, Families, and Relationships. (11 ed., p. 36).
Marano, Hara Estroff. "Children of Divorce: 25 Years Later." USA Weekend. Sept. 15-17 2000: 16-17. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 May. 2014.
Warren Farrell is a well educated man who focuses his attention on gender. In his essay “Men as Success Objects,” he writes about gender roles in male-female relationships. He begins, “for thousands of years, marriages were about economic security and survival” (Farrell 185). The key word in that statement is were. This implies the fact that marriage has changed in the last century. He relates the fact that post 1950s, marriage was more about what the male and female were getting out of the relationship rather than just the security of being married. Divorce rates grew and added to the tension of which gender held the supremacy and which role the individuals were supposed to accept. “Inequality in the workplace” covered up all of the conflicts involved with the “inequality in the homeplace”(Farrell). Farrell brings to attention all ...
There was a time when women typically maintained the home and raised children while the husbands were the sole bread-winners for the family finances. However, times have changed and so have women’s rights and expectations for divorce, education, an...
Cauchon, Dennis. “Women gain as men lose jobs.” USA Today. 3 September 2009. Web. 1 May 2012. < http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-02-womenwork_N.htm>.
An excerpt, from a 1950 home economics textbook, was founded on "How to Be a Good Wife." It gave nine suggestions to women on how she could please her husband. Before her husband came home from work, she was expected to have dinner ready and on the table. She was also anticipated to prepare herself by putting make up on, doing her hair, anything that could make her look refreshed upon his arrival ("The Good Wife"1). Not only was she to pamper herself, but she was supposed to coddle her children, whether it be giving him/her a bath or changing his/her clothes. Since she was a housewife, she was to insure the house was spotless. The noise level was to be minimized. This did not only mean for the children to be quiet, but rather all noise from the washer, dryer, dishwasher, and vacuum were to be eliminated ("The Good Wife"1).
...d women’s biological purpose has provided men a source of comparative advantage in work. It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participative and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market.
More and more women work outside and inside the home. The double demands shouldered by these women pose a threat to their physical health. Whether you are an overworked housewife or an exhausted working mother the chances are that you are always one step behind your schedule. No matter how hard women worked, they never ended up with clean homes. Housewives in these miserable circumstances often became hysterical cleaners. They wore their lives away in an endless round of scouring, scrubbing, and polishing. The increased strain in working women comes from the reality that they carry most of the child-rearing and household responsibilities. According to social trends (1996), women always or usually do the washing in 79 percent of cases and decide the menu 59 percent of the time. Picking up the children at school or doing grocery shopping are just a few of the many typical household-tasks a woman takes on every day.
Schlessinger, L. (2007). The proper care & feeding of marriage. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Rampell, Catherine. "In Part-Time Jobs, Women Outearn Men." Economix In PartTime Jobs Women Outearn Men Comments. N.p., 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.