Marriage And Gender Roles

The dating game is a game of countless dinners, movies, and pleasurable activities. Once couples marry, these events become less frequent. Division of labor and human anatomy are some factors contributing to the decline in marital satisfaction. The first years of marriage also referred to as the honeymoon stage, is a time of actually becoming better acquainted and getting to know each other. But, when the dating phase runs its course and concludes, the game of marriage and house are now at the forefront of couple’s lives. Consequently, with dating no longer prevalent, marriage and home have now transitioned couples into their new roles. Transitioning into these new roles can be both challenging and confusing. However, these new functions …show more content…
“As a consequence of this division, women are expected to behave communally and these expectations get it translated into behaviors such as cooking and childcare, which equip them for fulfilling domestic roles” (Kurdek, 2005:69). “Men on the other hand are expected to behave agentically, and these expectations get translated into behaviors relevant to earning capacity that equip them for filling occupational roles” (Kurdek, 2005:69). Head of household and provider is the assumed role for men while women accept the role of homemaker and caregiver. As times have changed, so have the roles and functions we play. Women no longer desire to be solely dependent on men and men want women to contribute. Today some women are heads of the house while the men stay home and care for the children. These changes in roles have also brought much distance between married couples. Men might still be of the idea that women should stay home and cook and clean while their wives think differently. This role reversal may distance the married couple and bring forth the marital …show more content…
On the other hand, traditional Mexican wives serve their husbands and family hand and foot. Being raised in this manner and advised by my mother-in-law, I broke that cycle. Additionally, my mother-in-law advised me not to serve her son. According to her, men take care of women and not the other way around. These marital divisions of labor roles belong to another period. These functions took place in a time where women stayed home and did not have the independence of today. Men of today have also changed. Husbands of 40 years ago had clear and defined roles. Today men will undertake the household chores and assist in the care of the children. Forty years ago women did not work, today a lot of women do. As stated by Baum, (1971), “existing findings about marital satisfaction and dissolution are assimilated to propose an exclamation for the failure of the compassionate marriage in a framework of role segregation for spouses, in spheres with different value priorities and role obligations.” Today, women have become immensely independent and have higher expectations since they accomplish