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Gender Roles In The 1930s

Decent Essays

Gender defined roles are continuously adapting to the new societal norms of the era. There is a surplus of historical events that have reimagined the traditional expectations of a man or women. Referring to the late 1920s and early 1930s, women were seen as the common housewife. This image was depicted across many media platforms. The customary role of women, was to be in charge of running the household. This included polishing, vacuuming, dusting, dishes, laundry and other tasks which needed to be maintained on a weekly or daily basis. It became a full day workload, keeping her constantly busy as if she were employed. It was required for the women of the household to be prepared for anything her husband or family desired. Housework was typically expected to only include maintenance, however, this was not the case. Cooking, cleaning, and overall upkeep was all to be completed by the wife, while the man of the house brought in the money. The male's role in the household was the polar opposite to that of the women. His labour intensive job was seen to be too demanding to have him come home and continue to work in a place designed for relaxation. Men were considered to be strong, confident, intellectual leaders, whose skills were too advanced to have them wasted on simple house chores. Their main responsibility within the household was to provide their wives and family with financial stability; men were the “suppliers”. A man was depicted as a hard worker who would

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