I found these videos on youtube and thought they really pertained to what we talked about in class. They show how current economic struggles are affecting the family unit and gender roles.
Have you seen any of these gender roles changing among your own families or in families of people you know? Do you think some of these current changes will re-define how we view gender roles in the years to come? How does the redefining of gender roles contribute to positive or negative aspects in the family unit? Just wondering what everyone thinks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YlR0_pVyCI (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l51rxnKJRfk&feature=channel (Part 2)
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When I was watching the video and they were talking about how the gender roles are switching. I feel that part of the reason that so many more men then women are loosing their jobs are due to the professions and postisions that many of the men have. when in class we looked at how females and males can bridge out of their norms and since males are seen to have more higher up positions and the leaders the lower class/traditional jobs are not the ones that are needing as much need for replacement but rather the people are putting faults on the higher ups.
ReplyDeleteThis still doesn't change the matter about men now taking responsibility with the homelife. I think that the change can be positive change. I feel that their needs to be a middle and slowly become more acceptable but not go over board. If we go oveboard then it will just cause the same problems that females have been dealing with all this time.
I watched the videos and I thought that it was interesting that 78% of jobs lost were male jobs. But then afterwards, it made me realize that most of the jobs lost were business and construction, which are mainly male dominating jobs. While I don't really know of anyone personally who has changed gender roles as in the situation presented, I think that this is a very fascinating change happening in our society.
ReplyDeleteFor families to survive in this economy, it might mean that the mother has to work because the men might not be able to find jobs. While this change might put extra stress on the mothers of the family to make enough money to support the family, I agree with Krystal and think that this change could be positive. It would give both males and females experience to see the opposite side of the "traditional gender roles." I also believe, however, that once the economy reaches a more stable position, the gender roles will switch back, but in some cases, may continue to attract families as an alternative route to making ends meet. I think it is interesting to think about the complete switch in gender roles, and if it might actually be possible in the years to come (and if so, how might it change society as we know it).
Even though 78% of those who had lost their jobs were male, I agree with Ariele in the fact that those were male-dominated fields, so that provides a little explanation to the statistics. At the moment, I can't think of anyone's family that has had changes with gender roles.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a good thing that the lines/gender roles are being crossed and blurred. I think that it is important to have a balanced family life, and I found it nice to see that one guy was worried that he was not home as much he could be. Although the stereotypical gender roles place females as "the caregivers" and males as "the breadwinners," I really like the idea of men and women being in both categories.
Even though do think that these changes will influence the view on gender roles, I do not think it will be significant. I believe that it will just be more common, which I consider a positive change. I think that the caregiver/breadwinner stereotype will be around for a long time, but I think that there will be more combination roles.
This topic is my research topic! So thank you for the links!
ReplyDeleteI agree with that of the males who have lost their jobs are probably in male dominated professions. this statistic is leading us to believe one side of the story, much like how we discussed with Michael Moore's documentary.
I definitely see roles being switched these days. Working at a daycare I am able to interact with parents that are dealing with issues like these. An increase amount of men had lost their jobs and became stay at home dads while their wives found work to support the family. The dynamics shifted in many families because of this change. It was easier for some women to go back to their previous profession and find jobs than the men.
I think that women are getting out into the working field more, which is in turn switching gender roles previously established. They are having the chance to first be parents but also working to provide and support their families and self. I think back in the day this sort of thing would be unheard of. This change I view as positive. Dads are able to connect with their children more, establishing a bond that might have not been there before, and moms are about to venture past the stereotypical housewife and become financial contributors. this is not true for all cases though, but i think as time goes by only positive things will come out of it.
I feel that Krystal got it down perfectly. I'd also like to add that in the workplace women earn $.77 on the dollar, and despite what many believe, its not that women are earning more its that men are actually earning less.
ReplyDeleteWomen are also in more middle-management and lower-management then men, however when achieving upper-level or CEO level women are rather scarce.
The cultural shift is rather positive
-Jake M Masin
I agree completely that over the years males have slowly started to show a decline in the typical dominate work force aspect, while women now are showing an increase. The roles are now switching entirely showing that the men can stay at home with the kids while the woman are now the "bread winners" of the family. Even 30 years ago this aspect would have been hard to imagine, women having the dominate work force compared to their husbands.
ReplyDeleteThese changes are becoming more apparent, these gender roles are clearly changing in society, but the question is why? What factors are playing into this some what sudden switch of dominant work roles in families?
I also think that the main reason more men are losing their jobs compared to women is because most jobs in our society are male dominating. I definitely see the gender roles changing in our society as more women are getting out there and getting jobs instead of being the typical house wife and by the men losing their jobs due to the recession also contributes to this. I remember growing up in my neighborhood and seeing how 3/4 of the women on my street were stay at home moms while their husbands were the bread winner in the family. Today I noticed that some of the women are going back to school and getting jobs after all those year, probably due to our recession. Although it used to be viewed as uncommon, I think we are slowly transitioning and changing gender roles. For example, my aunt who is a pharmacist is the provider in the family while her husband quit his job to stay at home to watch their kids.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty funny in a way. Their first static and intro to the story is the fact that more men are losing their jobs than men. But if you listen to his rather than the numbers, he directly states that the areas are "male dominated fields."
ReplyDeleteAnyway I feel like the recession in the job market may be helpful to break their the glass ceiling women face and help children understand that gender should not have to play a role in a family. Children with stay at home dads will understand that it's okay for fathers to be the nurturer and instill the idea that women can be providers.
In the introduction the news reporter also states that "traditional gender roles [are being turned]upside down." I personally found this interesting because I feel that he's suggesting this shouldn't happen. In a way it feels like he's suggesting the roles are suppose to remain one way. Although I feel that way, there are others who would agree with the idea of gender roles. In one of the interviews a women says that she has "lost so much respect for him [her husband]." Her opinion about her husband becoming a stay at home father could possibly be because she grew up with the idea that men provide and women nurture.
Just because a husband has decided stay at home with his children should not suggest that he's unsuccessful. If women can stay at home to care for their children and in doing so be viewed as wonderful mothers, why can't husbands do the same?
Although men will have to accept that women are able to do equal work, I think this switch in roles will help young women break through gender bearers. If a young lady were raised by a stay at home dad and a mother who was the provider, I think she would be more confident in furthering her career. This reminds me of the chapter about Alexander Williams in the Lareau book. When Alexander was told he could only grow up to be a garbage man because of his race, he responds with confusion because his father was a lawyer. Well when a female is given expactations to become a nurturing, stay at home mother, she could retort with "I don't understand because my mother was the provider and my father was the one who raised me."
Gender roles have not had a strong influence in my family. I believe that both my mother and father raised me equally. They both worked full time jobs when I was younger and my mom actually made more than my dad. I would spend lots of time in after-school care and my parents took turns picking me up after they got off work. Both my parents also helped with making dinner. Though my dad usually did the barbequing and my mother worked in the kitchen. My dad was also the one to do all the house cleaning and gardening work. They split things out pretty equally. I consider this a good thing in our current society, considering, most mothers would not be able to hold a full time job without the help of their husband.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video I did a little further research and found out that a third of wives earn more than their husbands. A series of studies by a sociologist found that the more a mother is involved with the worker role, the less time she feels she has to enact with the mother role. But this result did not apply to fathers, despite the fact that fathers reported working twice as many hours on average than mothers did. These findings suggest that although caregiving and breadwinning behaviors may be competitively organized internally for mothers, they are not for fathers. I found this very surprising and contradictory of the experience I had as a child.
Personally, I haven’t seen much of a difference in gender role amongst my family. However, I have seen how much it has affected my parents when one or the other has not: made dinner, mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, and etc. For example, in my family household my dad is very “anal” when it comes to my mom preparing for dinner; and if hes not satisfied, he throws a tantrum which leads to an argument. This problem has been an annoying issue throughout the years, but one day I started to realize that my dad had eased up...alot! for instance, rather than complaining about the food, he quietly excuses himself and prepares his own dinner.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rest of the students, I also agree that there has been a slow decline of men in the work force, as there is an increase for women. And its apparent that men and women are switching gender roles as men are staying at home with the kids while the women are at work. Through the next years, the change in gender roles will become more common and I believe that these roles will contribute to a positive affect.