He Said, She Said: How Gender Roles Vary between Time and Culture Although America has long considered itself the “land of opportunity,” many Americans find themselves questioning exactly how much opportunity they really have. Gender roles, or the set of behaviors society considers appropriate for people of a given biological sex, have long played an impact on what men and women are anticipated to do (Garrett, p. 198, 2011). Developing an understanding of gender roles is inevitable as it often occurs in toddlers through social interactions and observational learning and only continues to grow through early adolescence. (Murphy, class lecture, October 7, 2015). Even though gender roles have become much less rigid in the United States over
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91, 2014). In the post-World War II era, women commonly spent their day at home either cleaning, cooking, or caring for the children, whereas men would spend their day at work and come home to expect any chores to be completed by their wife. This theme can be seen observed with my grandparents, as well as the movie “Pleasantville.” For example, although my grandparents struggled to support their family when they moved to a more desirable neighborhood, my grandfather had been the breadwinner of the family, working two full-time jobs, while my grandmother continued to stay home and make sure everything was in order. Although they live much more comfortable lifestyles now, one can see the prevalence of gender roles in their relationship as my grandfather still expects my grandmother to cook, clean, and answer the phone despite the fact that it has become much more difficult for her to perform these tasks. On the other hand, in the movie “Pleasantville,” where two teenagers from the 1990’s end up in a 1950’s family sitcom, women could be seen staying home all day preparing for their husband’s return from work. Furthermore, as the teenagers end up changing the norms of the community and women feel liberated, many of the men become confused as to why they are coming home from work to find no dinner or their wives out …show more content…
Although many people seem to believe that European countries have gender roles similar to those of the United States, many European countries actually have significant gender differences. For instance, I have found that many Italians I know tend to put a lot of emphasis on the family. Although I do not personally know of any Italians who were raised in Italy, I thought that the strong family values held by Italian-born citizens may influence their gender roles since they appear to be less individualistic than the people of the United States. After conducting research on the differences in gender roles between Italy and the United States, I found my beliefs to be true. According to Craig and Mullin (2010), gender roles between cultures are best seen in how people allocate time to paid and unpaid work (p. 1345). While the male employment rate in Italy (85.6 percent) for those aged 25-54 is similar to the United States (87.5 percent), the female employment rate for the same age group is much different between these two countries. Whereas 73 percent of women in the United States are employed, only 53.3 percent of women in Italy are employed (Anxo et al., p. 164, 2011). Additionally, among couples with children under the age of five, women in the United States are engaged in double as much time as men per week handling domestic chores, whereas in Italy, women are
91, 2014). In the post-World War II era, women commonly spent their day at home either cleaning, cooking, or caring for the children, whereas men would spend their day at work and come home to expect any chores to be completed by their wife. This theme can be seen observed with my grandparents, as well as the movie “Pleasantville.” For example, although my grandparents struggled to support their family when they moved to a more desirable neighborhood, my grandfather had been the breadwinner of the family, working two full-time jobs, while my grandmother continued to stay home and make sure everything was in order. Although they live much more comfortable lifestyles now, one can see the prevalence of gender roles in their relationship as my grandfather still expects my grandmother to cook, clean, and answer the phone despite the fact that it has become much more difficult for her to perform these tasks. On the other hand, in the movie “Pleasantville,” where two teenagers from the 1990’s end up in a 1950’s family sitcom, women could be seen staying home all day preparing for their husband’s return from work. Furthermore, as the teenagers end up changing the norms of the community and women feel liberated, many of the men become confused as to why they are coming home from work to find no dinner or their wives out …show more content…
Although many people seem to believe that European countries have gender roles similar to those of the United States, many European countries actually have significant gender differences. For instance, I have found that many Italians I know tend to put a lot of emphasis on the family. Although I do not personally know of any Italians who were raised in Italy, I thought that the strong family values held by Italian-born citizens may influence their gender roles since they appear to be less individualistic than the people of the United States. After conducting research on the differences in gender roles between Italy and the United States, I found my beliefs to be true. According to Craig and Mullin (2010), gender roles between cultures are best seen in how people allocate time to paid and unpaid work (p. 1345). While the male employment rate in Italy (85.6 percent) for those aged 25-54 is similar to the United States (87.5 percent), the female employment rate for the same age group is much different between these two countries. Whereas 73 percent of women in the United States are employed, only 53.3 percent of women in Italy are employed (Anxo et al., p. 164, 2011). Additionally, among couples with children under the age of five, women in the United States are engaged in double as much time as men per week handling domestic chores, whereas in Italy, women are