For centuries, there have been definable gender roles in the home. Women worked in the home, cooking, cleaning, and gathering food. They had children, nurtured and cared for them, and took care of their mate. Men worked outside of the home, earning a wage, and caring for their family monetarily. Prior to trade systems and money, women gathered and cared for the young, while men hunted. It is a story as old as humankind itself is. Today, it is slowly changing, as woman leave the home to work and are for children less, but it is still easily definable based on these roles and actions.
Gender roles in the home are still separate for men and women. Though they are slowly changing, women are still seen as the nurturing caregivers to the children in the household . Women may also be expected to assume any responsibilities that are connected to carrying for a husband’s needs. This can include, but is not limited to shopping for food, cooking dinner, cleaning the home, completing laundry, and running miscellaneous errands. As such, the woman may still be seen as a homemaker. These duties are often piled on top of a woman’s professional work, as an estimated 85% of women now work outside of the home, as well.
Men are traditionally viewed as breadwinners inside the home. Their role in the home is to be a provider, a protector, and a leader . Stereotypically, this would assume the male would make all of the financial decisions in the home, as he would be making all of the money. While the woman does the grocery shopping, the man would set the grocery budget. Today, these roles are being adjusted slightly; as mentioned, women are returning to work. While men may be seen as providers primarily due to pay inequality, women do not rely on men as a sole source of income. Men are still expected to protect the home in many instances, often based on strength and speed . General upkeep of the home, including maintenance of lawn and any utilities that may fall into disrepair, often falls to the male. Men are able to help more around the house with chores stereotypically “assigned” to women, and they are also able to take on a more nurturing role with their children, as women return to work for longer hours. Stay-at-home fathers is something world is seeing more of as working mothers become more common, as well. However, they are not common enough for the gender role reversal to be the norm.
In sum, while the line between gender roles remains definable, it is becoming increasingly blurred as the years pass. Women have been returning to work in droves since World War II, relying on men less for financial support, and becoming more independent. Though they have been viewed as less nurturing, and have been forced to provide less care to their children in exchange, they are still mothers at their core when they have children. Men are no longer expected to be primary breadwinners, though this is still a part of their task due to pay inequality. Many men are able to help more around the house and with their children while women return to work. There is a rebalancing of the scales as time goes on, though it is clear for now that things remain at a relatively stereotypical standstill.
Works Cited
Van Krieken, Robert, et al. Sociology. Scottsdale: Pearson Education Publishers, 2013.
