Boys Doing Chores Shocking

from: Allison

When you think about doing the chores around the house what gender usually does the chores? The females of the house and the men goes to work and bring home the bacon. In this picture my friend Tommy a 14 year old male is going against the gender socialization and the stereotype of men roles in the family. Tommy is sweeping the doorway for his mom. Society would view that a mans job is to work and come home and watch TV while the women of the household would clean and make dinner. Gender socialization begins at birth once an infant's sex becomes known. Gender is considered a social construction. Femininity and Masculinity are the social constructions form by society. Boys are more likely to have maintenance chores such as painting and mowing the lawn. The girls are more likely to have domestic chores such as cleaning and cooking and sweeping so seeing the picture of my neighborhood friend Tommy. Will society frown upon a man doing chores. Gender socialization starts at a young age when your mom buys a kitchen for the girl and GI Joes for the boys. From my childhood I remember my mom would buy me Barbies and dolls and my mom would buy my brother GI Joes or army men. Boys don't play with dolls or kitchens if the boys played with feminine toys then society would view them as gay. If girls played with GI Joes then society wouldn't have a problem and just call them Tommy Boys. My neighborhood friend Tommy in this picture was raised to play with Masculine Toys such as GI Joes. But growing up with 2 other boys and no girls his mom depends on him and his brothers to pitch in around the house. I believe that society's view has changed about the role of a female how she has to stay home and take care of the children and do housework. I know with Tommy's mom she doesn't stay home she goes to work and provides a second income for the family. Today mothers would bring kids to daycare or have the father stay home and watch the kids and do the chores. Thinking about I remember an episode on Wife Swap on TV where the mom would stay in bed while the male of the household would clean and make dinner. I also remember the male children would wait on the mom hand and foot and clean up the dishes and sweep the floor. But thinking about what happens if families do not have children that are male in the family who would do the chores? And what would happen in a divorced family with only girls in the family who would do the chores? Growing up it was just me and my brother so both of us had to pitch and do chores around the house while my mom went to work at the hospital. She hired a nanny to watch my brother and I guess you can say that the female didn't always do the chores in my family or Tommy's family.