Gazaferi 1

SamiraGazaferi
ProfessorBurnier
English1101158
13October2014
ChangingfortheBetter
IfyouevercatchyourselfwatchingILoveLucywithyourgrandmotherinherliving
room,payattentiontothesetupoftheshow.Lucyistypicallycookingathomeandwaitingfor
herhusband,RickyRicardo,togethomefromwork.WhileRickyisatwork,Lucyisusually
gettingintonogoodtroubleinthehouse,onlytohaveRickyfindhisohsosillywifewho
doesntknowanybettersittinginthemiddleofamessshejustmadefortheday.Lucyand
Rickyareaperfectexampleofwhatgenderrolesusedtobelike.Themythofgenderisa
conceptthatsocietyhasmadetosetstandardsforwhatittakestobemasculineorfeminine.For
hundredsofyears,therolesthatcoupleshaveassignedtothemintheirfamilieshavenot
changedatall.Thehusband/fatherwouldberesponsibleforgoingtotheirjobssincetheyarethe
backboneofthefamily.Whilethehusbandsareatwork,thewiveswouldbeathomecookingor
cleaning.Also,thewomenwouldbeexpectedtotendtotakingcareoftheirchildren.Theimage
ofthismodelfamilyhasbeenslowlydisappearinginourmodernsociety.Traditionalgender
rolesarechangingdrasticallytoday,andoureconomyisafactor.Newgenderrolesaretaking
placeandbecomingthenorm.
Popcultureusedtoreinforcetheideaofthemodernfamily.Therewereadvertisements
showingafamilywithonesonwhotypicallyisinvolvedinathletics,aperfectdaughter,a
slightlysubmissivemother/wife,andthesmiling,dominantfatherwhojustgothomefromwork,

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carryinghisbriefcase.Eventoday,wedontseethatmuchofachangeinadvertisingregarding
themodelfamily.Thesameelementsusuallystillapplytomoderndayadvertisementsthattarget
families.Thechildrenwhowatchtheseadvertisementsandabsorbthemessageslikeasponge
willandhavelearnedthatthosemodelfamiliesarethesocialnorm.InRereadingAmerica,the
ideaofthisreinforcementismentioned,Womencontinuetosuffereconomicequalitiesbased
onculturalassumptionsaboutgender.Whatsdefinedaswomensworkisdevaluedand
payslowwagesornoneatall(Colombo376).
Theeconomyplaysahugeroleonthefunctionandstructureofafamily.TheIndustrial
RevolutionwasacatalystforrolechangeswithinthehouseholdsofAmerica.Sincemenwere
servinginWorldWarIandII,womenwereencouragedtotakeontheresponsibilitiesthatwere
leftbytheirhusbands.Thisincludedtakingthejobsintheindustryandleavingthehome
regularly.Thefamousicon,RosietheRiveter,wasaproductoftherevolution.Theiconwas
madetoshowwomenthattheyhavepowerintheeconomy.Thisdefinitelyhadapositive
impact,eventhoughitchallengedtraditionalroleswithinthehouseholdsoftheU.S.More
womenwerenowexposedtotheworkingworldduetotheeconomy.
Withmorewomentakingoverintheworkingandmiddleclass,thereisnodoubtthatthe
ideaofthealphamaleisdeteriorating.Onereasonisbecausethatmostcouplesbothhaveto
workintodaysworld,soitisharderforonetobedominantovertheother.Somefamilieseven
havestayathomefatherswhilethemothersgotowork.Theideaofhavingafatherinthefamily
whostayshomeanddoesdailydutieswouldbetotallyoutoftheordinary50yearsago.Hanna
Rosindescribesthemoderndayworkplaceinregardstogenderinheressay,TheEndOfMen;
Earlierthisyear,forthefirsttimeinAmericanhistory,thebalanceoftheworkforcetipped

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towardwomen,whonowholdamajorityofthenationsjobs(Rosin475).Thetablesareslowly
turningontheeraofmaledominance.Thisshowsthatgenderrolesareinfactchanging,anditis
notsoconsequential.
Theeraofmaledominanceisnotoveryet.Theupperandexecutiveclassesstillneed
work.Thereisstillonepositionthatawomanneedstofill;andthatisPresidentoftheUnited
States.Oncethatlastglassceilingisfinallybroken,thensocietywillmostlikelyseewomenas
equaltomen.WithHilaryClintonrunningforPOTUSforthesecondtime,wemayseethat
happen.Thefactthatawomanisrunningforpresidentaloneprovesthatgenderroleshave
changeddrastically.Theonlyconsequencewecanseefromthesechangesingenderrolesisthat
somemenarebecomingalotlessmotivated.Withtheideaofwomentakingover,somemen
mightthinkthattheyshouldnottryashardinschooloratwork.Rosinnamesthemalewhois
describedassuchastheomegamale.Americanpopculturekeepsproducingendless
variationsontheomegamale,whoranksevenbelowthebetainthewolfpack.Thisoften
unemployed,romanticallychallengedlosercanshowupasaperpetualadolescent(inJudd
ApatowsKnockedUpor40YearOldVirgin)orahappycouchpotato(inaBudLight
commercial)(Rosin487).Thisneweraoftheomegamalewilldeterioratequickly.Therewill
beequalityamongstrolesofmalesandfemalesoncetheshorteraoffemaledominancemakesits
appearanceandfadesaway.

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WorksCited
Colombo,Gary,RobertCullen,andBonnieLisle,eds.RereadingAmerica:CulturalContexts
forCriticalThinkingandWriting.Boston:Bedford/St.Martins,2013.Print.
Rosin,Hanna.TheEndofMen.RereadingAmerica:CulturalContextsforCriticalThinking
andWriting.Ed.GaryColombo,RobertCullen,andbonnieLisle.Boston:Bedford/St.
Martins,2013.475487.Print.