Coincidentally, in my class right after English yesterday, some of my guy friends were making sexist jokes. It started with a joke about women in the kitchen, and then turned into them jokingly telling me to make them sandwiches and asking me why I wasn't in the kitchen. They were obviously just kidding and we were all having fun, but I think it shows that gender stereotypes are still pretty pronounced today. These guys aren't truly sexist, but they still have been exposed and somewhat influenced by common stereotypes against women. Historically, women have been confined to a certain role, and while we are progressing away from that, I don't think we will ever shed that idea completely. People will always feel more comfortable with the idea of the man working and the woman taking care of the kids and the house, despite how accepting we may become of alternate roles. What do you guys think?
~elizabeth
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I think that our generation is one that is stuck in between the two views of a woman's life. Our grandparents' generation was almost entirely the "woman=home" view. Our parents were less than that, but it was still prominent. Of course people in our generation think of women being in the home, because that is what we have been taught is normal, and therefore, "as things should be".
ReplyDeleteThe conversation at my lunch table deals with gender roles at least once a week, usually in the form of an arguement between the guys and the girls. I find it interesting not to see the conflicting views between the girls and the guys, but within the girls. There are some girls at my table who strongly believe that women should get a job and do everything EXCEPT be at home, and there are others who think that women should never get jobs and be supported by their husbands.
-Audrey
I think gender roles are still noticeable in our society, but they certainly have become less prevalent over the past century. Whether or not roles will ever be completely eliminated is an interesting question. I agree with Elizabeth that people will always be a little more comfortable with women "homemakers" and men as "breadwinners." However, these feelings are definitely going to continue to weaken, especially since the amount of women in the workforce continues to grow.
ReplyDelete-Bryce Cody
I think a lot of it depends on how people view themselves. As Audrey said, women argue among themselves what their proper role is. If they can't present a united view, then men are going to still see them in their traditional role as homemaker. I also think that in order for women to become more of breadwinners, men must be willing to become more of homemakers. It's certainly possible for a woman to do both jobs, but it's difficult. I don't think too many men see themselves as homemakers. They can accept the changing role of women, but aren't changing their own role. This means that many women will step out of the workforce to be the homemaker because both parents feel someone has to, and to many men, that means her.
ReplyDelete~Becca
Women still get paid less than men, and employers often will choose a man over a woman. Women obviously aren't equal in the work place yet. Still, women have a much greater opportunity to advance professionally than they did 80 years ago; I probably can't judge effectively as a guy, but it seems to me that women have reached the halfway point in equality in the work place. Is the struggle now eliminating sexism rather than overcoming it?
ReplyDelete-Colin
Becca said that "in order for women to become more of breadwinners, men must be willing to become more of homemakers." I disagree with this. Why can't both be both? I understand that it is difficult to have a two working parent household, but I mean in more general terms. In an ideal world, the whole race of man could be seen as both breadwinner and homemaker, and the whole race of woman could be seen as both breadwinner and homemaker. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Of course, this is in an ideal world, and likely to not happen very soon. Even though women have broken through the "glass ceiling" into the workplace, it is still seen as odd for a woman to have a full-time job and not be at home with the kids.
ReplyDelete-Audrey
I agree with Audrey that while our society is certainly not there yet, it does seem to be moving towards a culture where both men and women can slip in and out of the roles of "breadwinner" and "homemaker." While this shift will certainly take a long time, I see it as a very possible future scenario. I believe that the sterotypes discussed above are slowly fading and will eventually become obsolete.
ReplyDelete-Tara
As we were talking about in class, women are genetically made to be the moms because they are the ones having the babies, and that affects women's wages as well. Women are the ones that physically have to stop working for maternity leave, not men, meaning women will earn less overall because they're not working for a while. Women earn less for other reasons, as well, but I forgot to mention this in class so I'm sticking it here.
ReplyDelete-- tori