The Venus vs Mars Debate
The media has popularized the first view, while feminist academics are holding strong to the latter theory. Case in point: Barbara Risman, Ph.D., and Monahan Lang, Ph.D., both sociologists, argue that, if anything, men and women's roles are becoming more similar. They marshall lots of stats to buttress their case.
Having attended many of these work-family conferences and written umpteen articles on the subject, my feeling is that both sides have it half right and wrong. There is no doubt that many husbands are more actively in caregiving and household chores than previous generations, and certainly we're never going to go back to a 1950s model (if only because a globalization and other economic pressures will make that impossible.)
But, to say that we're anywhere near gender equality is to ignore mountains of evidence. If you look closely at most working couples, you'll still find that mothers are doing the "mental work" of running the household and shoulder much of responsibility for home life. Just yesterday, a mom was complaining to me about how her husband, who gets five weeks vacation, refuses to use it for the half days and host of school parties and events that parents are now expected to attend. My guess is, if a sociologist interviewed this husband, he'd probably appear to hold the same attitudes and concerns as his wife, too.
Stumble It!
posted by pam at 9:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home