...Introduction The book Housewife, 1974, was written by the author Ann Oakley, the first British liberal feminist sociologist. A postgraduate student in the late nineteen sixties, Oakley embarked on a study of the attitudes and work satisfaction of British housewives towards housework at that time. It was the first leading study to consider housework as ‘domestic labour' as an employment. In her book Oakley refers ‘housewife’ to women’s unpaid work role in the home. She found that housework were not recognised sociologically and at that time all the issues were only focused on power, stratification, deviance and grand theory. Being a housewife and mum of two young children, Oakley asked herself the question as to why housework is not being sociologically recognised nor as a paid work. Hence the research being done and the book Housewife were published. A sociological classic, the objective of this book is to open a whole new study and change the thought of sociologist about housework and to make a major landmark in the new emerging feminist sociology. She endeavoured to reveal statistically the appalling nature of women’s working conditions in the home and their unpaid work and to challenge the set of conservative values which brand work as a man’s activity and assign women to the home in the role of wife, and also to dispute the biological determinist statement that women are reproducers and nurturers for whom housework is a natural extension of their maternal role. To amend these...
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...Women’s roles in society have revolved around men and shaping their lives in order to fulfill the needs of their dominant male counterpart. Bergman and Friedan’s articles examine the expected roles that come with being a housewife along with the hardships that are attached to the job. Bergman highlights her article in three basic categories of duties, physical hazards, and pay. Friedan focuses more on, “the problem that has no name”, the dissatisfaction and boredom that these women felt after going to college and being well educated. The women in Friedan’s article feel they have no identity and are lost with what they truly want in life. Both articles examine the constructed societal roles of women and how people undermine the intelligence...
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...society where many women live and settle for an everyday life with no identity. Women are constantly trying to live the so-called “American dream” that includes a white picked fence, the perfect house, working husband, and 3 children. Many women live their life searching for this American dream, because society paints this picture that this is the ideal life for a woman. However society shadows and hides the actual unhappiness of the American housewife. Many call it “the problem that has no name,” however the problem is real and it’s called the housewife syndrome. Housewife syndrome is the constant struggle amongst many housewives who are sick of living a routine life. However, many women continue to disguise the problem and change their life in order to adjust to the feminine role of a housewife. Women need to understand that being a housewife should not identify who you are. The reason they feel empty and have nothing to look forward to is because they don’t know of a life that doesn’t evolve around their husband, children, or housewife duties. They can have it all the nice home, nice car, money, children, and loving husband but still feel dissatisfied due to their unhappiness as an individual. Bothers me to know that there are women who will settle for this unhappy life instead of fixing the problem. No women should ever feel like they don’t exist. There’s no reason to settle for something in your life that causes nothing but stress and...
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...time of writing, the early 1950s, the housewife was one of the only occupations for women. Mrs. Montag reflects this in the Fahrenheit universe as a stay at home wife to Guy Montag. However, the novel makes it clear that she doesn’t live a utopian life by displaying the mental illness and drug misuse as a result of her suppressive and mentally strenuous role. The fifties housewife herself was the presented role for women of the day. Post WWII, women were no longer doing all the men’s jobs while they were away fighting. Instead, she was restricted to oversee all of the domestic household issues and...
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...their boys to be dominant and competitive. A liberal feminist, Jessie Bernard, says that the key factor limiting the potential of women is the role of being a housewife. Bernard believes that marriage is mainly beneficial for men as they are more likely to have successful careers, high incomes and high status occupations. However, wives portray marital dissatisfaction more than men because they gain the least. Also feminists say that the inequality is not biological, therefore is a product of culture and is created through the variation of domestic labour. according to feminists, women often are socialised into the low pay jobs and even if women and men do end up having the same job, women get less pay than the man in said job, which is still seen today. Functionalists such as Wilmot and Young have claimed that 72% of the married men in their sample help their wife in some other way than washing, even though they haven’t specified what this job is. They believe that the family is symmetrical and both husband and wife have joint conjugal roles, which makes the family a functional institution. However, Anne Oakley argues that the fact that they say that they help their wife implies that they have been taking on a dual burden and that the primary responsibility is still the wives. Oakley also claims that the creation of the housewife role is a construction of society and is not linked to the female role. This role guarantees that women stay submissive to men and they don’t get a career...
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...Paul Bass D . EID: pdb586 Writing Assignment Final Draft Due Date: Mar 5, 2014 by 12am Housewife vs. Courtesan in India In the early 20th century, life as a woman in Indianociety S (and in the rest of the world at the time) was not glamorous. The common consensus was that a woman’s natural place was to be within the domicile and that women held less power than men, despite all their contributions to the family. “In the average Indian family the strictest domestic economy is the rule of life, and the household work is done by the women of the household” (Temple 64). It was a woman’s job to keep the household in order, raise the children, and keep her husband satisfied. “vulnerable in a maledominated world”, marriage was considered an impending fate for women as India’s workforce was primarily male dominated omen , w were dependent on men for financial support (Nijhawan 103). Getting married was also a must for women and was seen as the only ‘respectable’ course of action in a womans life. Widows in Indian society were treated poorly and had a low social standing, even though they had followed all respectable social norms “How much the women dread widowhood is exhibited to the full in the fact that to call a woman a widow is to offer her a dire insult” (Temple 65). The courtesans of the time seemed to live outside of these sociocultural norms. Analysis of ...
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...A Touch of Freedom Feminism Analysis of A Pair of Silk Stockings Feminism is the ideology that women and men should be granted equal treatment and that the rights of women should not be undermined. In reality, as if born to bear the burden of domestic affairs, women tend to unconsciously make more personal sacrifices for family and children than men most of the time. In the short story A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin, the devoted housewife Mrs. Sommers constantly prioritizes the necessities of her family before her own, but is later driven by the joy of gaining self-identity to escape from the dreary obligations of a “good” woman. In this case, the protagonist has clearly been suppressed by her social duties as a female and is unable to enjoy personal freedom. The idea that women should not be constrained by gender conformity applies feminism to the conflicts that Mrs. Sommers encounters. In A Pair of Silk Stockings, feminism is amplified through the portray of traditional gender roles of women in the society, and how Mrs. Sommers struggles to flee from the responsibilities as expected of a wife and mother. First, Mrs. Sommers submits to social pressure and constantly belittles herself, making sacrifices for family and children. Then unexpectedly, she becomes conscious of the value of self-identity and abandons her usual responsibilities that have been constraining her. As a devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Sommers sees the necessities of her family as the priorities...
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...In the 1600’s, a women’s role in American society was to be an obedient housewife and mother. She must cook, clean, garden, take care of the children, and obey her husband. That changed during the late 1700’s when women had to reverse their roles of being a housewife to being a surrogate for their husbands as they were dispatched to serve in the army. Now it was the women’s job to be in charge of the family business and the estate, along with having the duty of a housewife and a mother. They had several unfamiliar duties to fulfill such as repairing household items and being the protector of the house while their husband was out fighting a...
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...that make up why someone of this descent may act or carry themselves in a certain way. This would also affect the decisions an individual makes regarding product selection. A commercial that is attractive to an American housewife may not be attractive to a Japanese housewife. A few of the differences in American and Japanese culture are importance of hierarchy, group harmony, using certain numbers in advertising and language barriers. Cross Cultural Issues Hierarchy is highly respected in Japan personally and professionally, yet in America hierarchy exists but is not held to as high of standards or tradition. This is so engrained in the Japanese Culture that children even refer to their senior and junior classmates with specific names. Personally this hierarchy is based on age, the eldest would be seated at a place of honor at the dinner table and be the first person to start eating. The significance placed on hierarchy can cause issues in a marketing campaign if the Americanized campaign was not respectful of this hierarchal tradition. Example would be rebelliousness or lack of respect for authority being portrayed in a commercial would be considered disrespectful within the Japanese Culture and thus putting a negative view on the product being advertised(Japan – Language…, n.d.). In advertising to Japan the...
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...everything is getting better and that roles between men and women are becoming more equal. The future foundation (2002) supports the march of progress and found that 75% of women do less domestic chores than their mothers and 60% or men claim they do more domestic chores than their fathers. Young and Willmot (1973) said that the symmetrical family is becoming increasingly popular. This is a type of family in which the domestic chores, childcare and paid work roles are split equally between the man and woman. This family type is becoming so popular because women’s position in society has changed significantly over the recent years, it’s now normal for women to have a career instead of being a housewife. Also the burden of housework has decreased due to commercialisation of housework, the housewife role is disappearing and it’s now easier and quicker to keep a home clean by the use of hovers and washing machines. In contrast, Warde and Hetherington (1993) said that certain jobs were ‘sex typed’. This means that men and women are expected to do different jobs around the home. For example, women are expected to cook, clean and look after the...
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...topics related to the supposed narrator’s point of view in a very indirect way. 1. The poem can have multiple meanings for the reader depending on what the audience is looking for. 2. The double meanings of the metaphors work as a riddle. II. The theme of “It Sifts from Leaden Sieves” is the snow, but it also is ambiguous and can lead to different theme interpretations. A. The stanzas by themselves do not picture snow, but when they are put together in one poem they describe snow accurately. 1. The audience may not realize the theme is snow after reading the first time. 2. The snow is described by its effects or by comparison of its similarities with other things by the use of metaphor. B. The theme can be interpreted as a housewife or as nature being prepared to marriage by putting a white veil. 1. Several parts of the poem contain metaphors, and those metaphors are purposely similar to a housewife’s chores. 2. The word vail is misspelled on purpose, so the audience can see the relation of veil. Fernando Pratagy Cavalheiro Dr....
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...Ideal Hostess During the 1950th time period in the United States, normal working class starts to move in to suburb area to seek for better life. The popularity of suburb area causes a shift of position for women in the society at that time. Most people begin to expect women to stay at home either taking care of children or the whole household. In addition, the ideal housewife needs to be perfectly obedient to her husband and pay extraordinary attention to her children. In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts a similar image of a perfect housewife, Linda Lowman: she is always supportive to every decision her husband, Willy Lowman makes and protects Willy’s illusions and pride. However, her expectations to Willy and the pressure she...
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...his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax. Don’t complain if he’s late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day. ■ Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. ■ Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. ■ A good wife always knows her place. http://motifmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/1950s-housewife-rules/ Things are Very different form how there were in the 1950s. But we can all learn a little for reading about being a Good Housewife in the 1950s. what was a good housewife in the 1950s? "The Basics" The following is excerpted from an actual 1950's high...
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...I Love Lucy Loves Stereotypes I Love Lucy is an American television series from the 1950s following the Lucy and Ricky Ricardo family. Ricky’s in show business and Lucy’s the housewife that tends to drive him crazy with all the trouble she gets into. Episode 23 in season 2, “Lucy Hires a Maid”, Ricky notices how overwhelmed and tired Lucy is with all the house chores and caring for their new-born son. He sends in a note to the employment agency for a maid but leaves the responsibility of interviewing and hiring her to Lucy. Lucy caves in to the first woman who arrives and this maid, Mrs. Porter, is the opposite of what they need; she eats all their food and is no help with the baby. Both Lucy and Ricky are terrified of her but in the end Ricky calls her up and fires her. Messages about gender in I Love Lucy illustrate that women should work inside of the house and men should work outside of the house because women are caretakers and men are money makers through Lucy’s status as a mother, Ricky’s status as breadwinner, and Lucy’s inability to act in a business fashion. Gender roles are very obvious in I Love Lucy, as Lucy acts like the “ideal” American housewife; she does not have a professional job and puts on a dumbfounded face whenever Ricky talks about business, politics, economics, or anything that does not relate to housework. Lucy takes complete care of Ricky Jr, their son. In episode 23, during season 2, Lucy tries to get Ricky to be the one to take care of the crying...
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...Simply Maria, or The American Dream Ricardo- “I can believe i raised such a PUTA.” In the inspirational play Simply Maria, or The American Dream, directed by Mr. Schwinge, we see how a young girl named maria is being held back by her parents because she wants to study and continue her career and they want her to become a housewife. Michelle ,who plays the lead role of Maria, wanted to do more in life than be a housewife, she believed she was more than that. For example, in the scene were Maria told her parents she was accepted for a scholarship, her Riccardo, her dad, was very pissed and called her daughter a PUTA. Michele made this scene feel realistic because when she got into her room she broke into tears and the fact that...
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