Altered expectations of the roles of men and women in society has been one of the greatest changes since the Second World War. Mum is no longer portrayed wearing an apron in the kitchen in her role of looking after the house and kids. Unisex fashions and hairstyles have contributed to the changes in female and male stereotypes.
The majority of married women with children now work away from home. A man in the supermarket is no longer a rare sight: he may be doing the shopping because his wife is at work while he (because of redundancy, less earning capacity or role reversal) now does the ‘home duties’. When both partners work, some men are taking on their fair share of housekeeping and parenting chores, though my impression is that in most families it is still the women who are responsible for efficient household functioning and assignment of chores.
Even the advertisers are taking notice of pressure from female consumers for more realistic portrayals of women: we now see less of the stereotype whose only concerns are stain removal and keeping her hands soft. Not that these things aren’t important, but there’s much more to women’s lives!
Women are not the same as men (and vive la difference), but it’s great to see them gaining social equality though there’s still a long way to go, especially in employment opportunity and earning capacity. However, many women (and even more men) are ill-at-ease with women’s changing role in society. Some have deep philosophical or religious convictions that women’s traditonal role shouldn’t change. Others find it easier to slip into the traditional pattern.
Some have problems going against things we learnt as children: we know in our heads that the changes are in the right direction, but it feels somehow wrong when we do things differently from our mothers. So we try to fulfill both roles, which is like wanting to have your cake and eat it.
*88/31/5*
