13 January 2009

Gender Roles


After reading The Good Wife's Guide from 1955, do you think any of the suggestions still hold true in the 21st century for women? Is that a bad thing or a good one? Explain...

18 comments:

Courtney Maratta said...

I believe that the things that were said in the article still hold true only not as specific. For example in my house my mom cleans, but has a job as well. while my dad cooks and works too. So a few things have stayed the same, you see more that women often do the cleaning. Also, I'm sure that there are homes out there where women do all the things the article states a women should do. i think some women believe that their place is in the kitchen and cleaning. I think that this is a bad thing, if women do all the cooking and cleaning everyday, then it goes unappreciated, the men will assume that you'll do that everyday and nothing else, women are suppose to say how they feel and men are suppose to listen and visa versa, thats what a good relationship entitles, not how the article says women shouldn't complain and say what's wrong to their husbands. Men need to be able to appreciate the things their wives do, and if the wife is constantly doing these things that the article states then they will eventually become un-noticed.

Melissa A. said...

After reading the "Good Wifes Guide" I definitely think that some of those suggestions stand true today. Although in todays society, usually the men and women go to work, I feel that the man still expects to be taken care of when he gets home. For many decades, the women was the caretaker of the family and even though society has made men and women more equal, it is still hard to change ways after they have been around for so long. Without a doubt, I think that the suggestions stand true in abusive relationships more than they do in an average American household. Men in an abusive relationship feel superior over the woman and as a result they feel like they should be pampered by their wife. In most cases, women in abusive relationships do not have the courage to stand up to their husband and defend themselves so they deal with it and as time goes on they do not see anything wrong with tending to the every need of the man. The fact that women are "suppose" to take care of men can be both a good and bad thing. If the woman has no problem talking care of the man then it shouldn't be looked down upon. However, if the women knows that what she is doing is not equal but she is too weak to stand up for herself, such s women in abusive relationships, then that is definitely a bad thing. Nobody should ever feel inferior to others no matter what age, gender, or ethnicity they are. Also, people should not do certain things just because they are being told to, especially by their spouse. A relationship is suppose to be an equal effort to please each other, not one person working while the othe plays.

amanda bollacker said...

Touché to both Courtney and Melissa. I believe that women find their place from a combination of expectancy and tradition. There will always be women who believe their place belongs in the home, and although I disagree, I have to respect that. Some women would rather just do the work themselves in effort to please their husband or just because they want to. Some just do it because they think it is part of their lifestyle. I think the expectations of women are certainly lessened, and many more have come out of the house into college and a career. However, as for where a woman's place truly lies, I truly don't believe that role has changed. Of course now the roles are more equal, but women still have primary care for children and domestic duties, even after a long day at work. And while a marriage is supposed to be a loving and equal relationship (like those 2 said) it should also mean a balance of power. Neither a man nor a woman should have control over the other. Rather they should have control over themselves. While I see the Good Wife's Guide as a pretty horrific thing and the views outrageous, especially today, not everyone is a feminist. I know if I lived in 1955 and I was expected to marry and be in a relationship that turned me into a servant...I think I'd get ostracized cause I wouldn't submit to that. Never. For some women that life is perfectly acceptable, but for me I feel it is degrading to a woman, and even the best relationship can turn when a man begins to expect that kind of treatment from his wife more and more.
Oh yeah randomly the word verification thing is "dalvact." ??

Kiran said...

Many of the suggestions given in The Good Wife's Guide do still hold true today but it isn't easy to differentiate whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. The reason women have these labels and roles is because as women, and not only socially but biologically they contain certain qualities which men don't, making it natural for them to take on the part of housekeeping and similar tasks. Gender theories can support the fact that gender isn't strictly nurtured through social interactions, which is something many people believe. And we can't deny the paradigm which distinguishes between both sexes either. For example, even if a woman has decided she doesn't want children, she is continuously acting in accord of finding better mating prospects. But then again, this attitude doesn't necessarily exclude men either. In a way some part of the brain facilitates interests and individuality through self-experience and through cultural learning whereas the other controls a person's behavior relative to their biological operation, hence the stereotypes. Because of this it isn't really surprising to see that women are still not prone to this age old custom. The only reason there is an uproar from women is because they are realizing the differences but they fail to understand that rather than being inferior to their counterparts they somewhat complement them because they are naturally adept to doing so.. and its very likely that this is why, even after so many years, the suggestions given in The Good Wife's Guide still exist with a few minor changes, such as the fact that now women can work and keep a home at the same time. What I've discussed mainly concerns the nurturing / homely aspect of woman's role because suggestions such as "don't complain to him after he comes home from work because what you have to say doesn't matter" are obviously ridiculous and I'm sure someone, if anyone, even back then felt the same way.

theBaraness said...

Some suggestions still hold true today but in a very general way. There still should be respect, happiness, and the basic necessary needs in the home today. I do not believe the suggestions should only apply to women because their spouse or domestic partner should have the same respect, love, and happiness towards them. The only way the suggestions would apply today would be if the same principles were applied to both people, and not just the wife or whomever. Women might hold some of the 1955 suggestions true today because women are thought to be better at juggling tasks than men are. Women like to take the responsibility of cleaning, cooking, laundry e.t.c. because they can relieve stress that way and they think they can do a better job than their husbands. Is it a bad thing or a good thing? I just say do whatever you want. Women have the right to do as they please. If a woman wants to be a wet towel, they have the right to do so. If they want to be a hugely successful businesswoman, then why not. Women fought for our rights so we'd be able to live the life that we please. Women telling women today that they are acting wrongly as a woman is the same thing the men said to the rebelling women in the 1950s.

Little Bermudez said...

I think some might be true but thats all upto women. Some might wana be exactly like that while others want to be the total opposite of that and they just want to be treated like that. If a women wants to be like that them whose to tell her not to be like that just like if a women expects and wants that. Its all up to women but it all comes to what men want becuase if they dont want that then they can just find the women they wont. Honestly its a 50/50 world because not everyone is the same so if a man or women wants something they can always find that person.

Natalia said...

The points mentioned in the article still are present today for women. I think it's not just what society believes overall, it's based on what the women thinks she should be held responsible for. In some homes, the men do the cooking and the women are the ones who work and or take care of the bills, while the husbands stay at home. While in some, women are responsible for the child care, and the house work like it was expected back in 1955. I think that today, it is more of a choice to who does what, it is not based on anything like a guide to being a good wife/husband. Other suggestions such as in the guide that still are visible in the 21st century are that of the respect which should be shown to husbands, but also the respect that husbands should show to wives as well. Most of these suggestions are based on a general view of the guide, not specified as it used to be.
I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing. We can see that it's a bad thing because society hasn't come along way to get rid of that kind of thinking. On the other hand, this might be something that will always be true in one way or another. However, it is good that women have come a long way from what they were treated and to how they stand in society today, which is definitely a higher status.

Julie Pietrycha said...

I think that this article is a semi ridiculous. Some of the things that were stated are understandable while others were just mind boggling. To have to listen to anything the man says and act like you have no opinion and are only there to entertain him or to comfort him. There are people you can pay to have them listen to you and have no opinions but you have a wife so that both of you can talk to each other and not just have the wife listen to the husband talk. This reminded me of the movie "Pleasantville," how the wife always had dinner ready for her husband when he came home from his day at work. My favorite part was when he came home and expected his dinner but his wife was not there and neither was his dinner. Not all families are the typical way as this article suggested. During times now, some families just have men in the houses and everyone has to pitch in to make things work. My mom and dad share all of the chores equally, along with including me and my brothers to help. Women and men are capable of doing almost all the same things, so it seems strange to me that women are expected to take care of the men when the men are just as capable to take care of the women.

Anonymous said...

I think that the suggestions from The Good Wife's Guide still hold true to some degree today. Though in our society today I think it really depends on the family and their lifestyle. Things have changed since The Good Wife's Guide was written so for some families the suggestions may hold true while for others they are the total opposite. Today there are families where that father is the one who stays at home and cooks, takes care of the house while the mother works. I think that people are just so used to these ideas that it is the woman who should cook and clean and do the laundry and it is hard to change this way of thinking. But definitely from the time this guide was written things have changed and more and more people are starting to accept and not just stick to these ideas suggested in the guide. So I think that over a long period of time, these ideas will not really play a big role because different families are in different situations and so their lifestyle will depend on that and not what the Good Wife's Guide suggests.
I think that these suggestions shouldn't be considered good or bad because it really depends on a family's way of life. It would be bad if all women were actually forced to do what the guide suggests, but they are not. It is their choice of finding the person who they want to marry and it is with them who they decide how to run everything.

erinzenzie said...

I do think that some of the suggestions from the guide still do apply in some peoples households. As we heard in class, one girls mother is a stay at home mom and cleans the house and cooks and does things that were deffinitely mentioned in the guide. As long as the woman isnt feeling like shes being walked all over, or she is unhappy being that way and doing those things, I think it is okay. On the other hand, in my house in particular, my father has always been the one to come home from work earlier than my mom and have dinner ready for when she comes home for all of us to eat. I know that he doesnt feel he has to be this way, but it has always been this way becuase we like having family dinners together, and we have extra-carricular things to do later in the night, so if we waited until my mom got home, we wouldnt have time to even eat dinner. I feel that having things these ways in todays day in age, it could be bad in some ways if the woman is being forced to be this way, but good in others if the woman feels its her job to be this way and is happy being this way.

katie w said...

I believe that the things that were said in the article only somewhat hold true today. As a whole, both men and women share the roles around the house and in the workforce. For example, in my house, my dad does alot of the cooking when my mom is too tired from work or has other things to do. Both my parents share the roles around the house like cooking and cleaning and neither have a problem with it. Today even the children help their parents with the chores. If the women do all the work and the men sit around and do nothing than tht is degrading to the women because the women do not get a equal chance to go out nd experince the workforce and the other aspects of life. This article to me is very outdated and both women and men today should not go by what it says.

A Holzhauer said...

Some suggestions hold true in this guide, but most of the time today both parents are working. I belvie that if one partner is not working they should be taking care of dinner, the house, and the kids. As for the "you have no right to question him" part, that would never work out between couples. If that were the case, I feel that it wouldn't even be a sincer relationship. If one person can literally do what ever they want while the other can't, that's not right, or fair. But this would never work today because mostly everybody is going to college, and the parents need to save money for their kids starting at an early age. As a result both parents will need to work leaving nobody to play the role of a stay at home mom or dad.

Mikayla Belle said...

I think that some of the rules are still true, but only to a certain extent. The main difference now, is that men can also do the things that were listed. It is no longer only the woman’s job to cook clean and take care of the family. Men are no longer seen so superior to women. The respect described in the article if still present, but now it is mutual, instead of only the woman showing respect for the man.

Michelle Post said...

When it comes to women and their equality, it is very hard for me, being a woman, not to be passionate about this subject. But, i must say, that after reading the good wifes guide, i could still put examples to some of the key points. yes, its not as extreme as it used to be but there are still small scenes where women are being used as tools instead of human beings. In the reading, that's exactly how they were portrayed. as a pawn in a man's life so that he can be happy. she cooks and cleans and takes care of him so that he can feel comfortable. like i said in class, i think that once and a while having a nice day after a hard day at work with a meal ready and the house clean is nice, but having that everyday will have anyone get used to it and have them take advantage of the situation.

Derek Giansanti said...

i belive that the rules that were in the good wifes guid still hold true in the 21st century but not as structured and strict.i have seen most parents/mothers full fill half if not more of these guiid lines for thier husbands.the easy guide lines like cooking and cleaning and watching the kids still hold true.things like that are in almost every family but the other guidlines are not somuch followed like the getting pretty for when he comes home or rubbing his feet and what he has to say is more important.personaly i think that it is a good think that certain thinks stay the same so there is some order in the household but the wifes shouldn't have to do it every day or have to do the stupid rules.i think this because the stupid rules don't hold the house together and the other one s do hold the house together.

Rimshah: Changing With The Seasons said...

I believe the suggestions mentioned in the article were a guideline to wives since society accepted it during that period of time. I believe that it would only apply to women today if they chose to accept those guidelines. I think it's up to the women how she wants to live her life whether if she decides that she wants to work or stay at home and take care of the family. A good relationship should involve both ,the men and woman to listen to each other not one way. I think both men and woman should split the responsibilities so one of them doesn't start to feel overwhelmed with the work and both are trying to work at achieving the same goal and that is to take care of the family.

Mel Ruiz said...

After reading the guide, I do think that some of the suggestions hold true today. For example, in many households the mother is still expected to be the caretaker of the house and the family while the husband it responsible for bringing home a pay check to support the family. This difference in gender roles can be seen in many aspects of life still today. When it comes to occupations, there are many fields that are mostly comprised of only women or men based on what the job entails. For example, you will not find many women in the professions that involve intense physical labor because it is considered more masculine. I feel that the fact that these suggestions still old today is neither a good thing nor bad thing. It simply depends on the person. For example there are many women who are offended by the fact that women are expected to be devoted wives and mothers and are not always given the same opportunities as men because of this. However there are other women who do not mind this expectation because it is what they want to do with their lives.

theBaraness said...

hiiiiiiiii i miss this classssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss