Sometimes parents set a double standard of how they treat their children, depending on their children’s gender and age. I want to focus on the idea that boys are not expected to clean, cook, and babysit. Coincidentally, these three categories fall into the women’s sphere of the separate sphere ideology and contribute to the development of gender relations. This separate sphere ideology somewhat still exists today. The difference of today’s view on this ideology is that women have greatly ventured into the men’s sphere, which includes making money and involvement in politics. However, it is still less common for men to emigrate to the women’s sphere because there still exists some type of embarrassment and negative attitude towards men who carry out the duties that fall into the women’s sphere. Parents sometimes inadvertently socialize their children to the separate spheres. This encourages the divide of the women’s sphere and men’s sphere, which affect the treatment inside the family towards sons and daughters, which in turn play into the development of gender relations.In this picture, notice Trisha is cleaning up her brothers’ mess. Note the napkins and remote controls lying on the ground beside them. Also, notice the boy’s jackets and shoes spilling out of the coat closet. Trisha is dressed in feminine and girly clothes, vacuuming the carpet, while her brothers are idly hanging out on the big, leather, couch playing Xbox. They were given some of the same responsibilities, such as cleaning, but because Trisha is a girl, she is always expected to clean, cook, and babysit. Apparently, she is told that she is better at doing them than her brothers because she is a girl. Although, her two brothers also have the same responsibilities to clean the house, they are lightly reprimanded for not doing their house chores because they are not expected to do them well or at all. Trisha’s expression in the picture portrays her annoyance and disbelief towards her brothers because she would be heavily reprimanded if she did not obey her parent’s rules. Trisha and her brothers clearly see that she is being treated unfairly, but because of the enforcement of today’s separate sphere ideology and gender roles, the boys are not encouraged to do “women duties” and Trisha is stuck abiding by the set double standard rules.
7 comments:
In my house my dad is the main breadwinner and my mom does all of the household chores. She cooks, cleans, and does dishes, and laundry and everything else imaginable. I feel like when my parents were younger that is how they were raised that the man would work outside of the home and the women would do all of the domestic work. I know when I get older I will split the work evenly. Girls shouldn’t be left with the house work and the children, men should get some of the responsibility too.
Since I am the only women in my house I am always told to clean up sometimes when everything is fine. It was always the women that should clean while the men lie around and relax. That is not the case where I live. In the picture you see the women cleaning while then men does nothing. My house is divided equal every day there is something that needs to be done but we share it in it gets done much faster. I think when the woman does not have to do all the work around the house it is a happier home and there are less problems to work out.
After reading this post and looking at the picture carefully, I have to ask myself one question... Why is the idea of the separate sphere ideology so strong? I feel like if men and woman could split up the work in the house equally. Who knows, maybe if the work would be split equally, there would not be as much stress on marriages. I just had the idea that woman are put in these roles so young in their lives.
I completely agree with this post. Parents have been culturally structed to view the daughter as the one who babysits, cook, and cleans. This is soomething that is usually not asked to do by the son. I have personally experienced this as I was the child who had to cook babysit and clean on occasions. Bringing up the seperate sphere ideology, today women have come more into mens shpere by doing more jobs and oppening the horizons. However, as stated men have not moved into women jobs or women responsibilities. This double set of standards are seen daily and continually affect many women today. Great post!
I agree. Growing up, my brother was never really asked and was especially never expected to do the cleaning, cooking or work that is so often associated with women and the domestic sphere. I think this unequal division of labor can lead to problems within the household especially if it is not discussed or mutually agreed upon.
I have to agree whole heartedly with Christy. The seperate sphere ideology seem to run so very deep. Even as small children the serperate shre ideolody is so deeply ingrained in all of our interactions. Girls oftern go from playing house to running a household and trade Fisherprice cleanup sets that come complete with working vaccums for the real thing. I understand how a woman in her first year of marrage could feel completely burnt out and over whelmed by house work. She has been doing it her whole life!
The picture shown is a clear indicator of the way that children are socialized to think that women and girls are meant to take care of everyone else and that they are destined to be mothers. This leads to the stereotype that women are meant to be stay home moms who take care of their families.
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