Good Housekeeping: Governor Adlai Stevenson Tells College Women

In an essay by Judy Brady titled “I Want a Wife”, Brady discusses the typical gender dynamics of her time period (the 1970s) and challenges them. She essentially says that women are treated like they are inferior to men and so she says that she wishes or wants someone to fulfill her duties for her just like she does for her husband. This essay shows the struggle to gain equality in this time period and also represents the thoughts that a woman in this time period might have. Not only is the meaning behind this essay significant, but the way in which Brady presents it is also significant and it amplifies and strengthens the argument. This is proven by textual evidence found in the essay itself.

In society, there will always be roles, and in the 1950’s the average woman would have an inferior role to play out. Men, known as the superior sex, would be catered by the woman. Females were expected to adjust their feelings, thoughts, and actions to accommodate to a male's life. The “do not speak unless spoken to” role was common for a woman in the 1950’s. They were expected to obey their husbands and fathers without any hesitation. In order to be seen as a respectable woman by society in the 1950’s, they

In this satirical article, Brady expresses the difference between the roles of women and men in the 1970’s by stating men’s point of view on women and women’s roles in society. Throughout her article, Brady emphasizes the roles of women. For example, women could now “work and...takes care of the children when they are sick”. Comparing the 1880’s to the 1970’s, there has been a big improvement. Many women had jobs outside their home, but still were responsible for most housework and childcare while their husband’s only responsibility in a marriage was to go to work and earn money to support the family. Society’s expectations allowed women to work outside the home to support college education for husbands; however,women had to know how to balance their time between their children and their jobs, making sure that their husbands “cannot miss classes at school.” During the 1970’s, women were still oppressed in many ways and had to follow society's expectations in order to live up to the men’s view of women’s roles in society. Even though society’s expectations of women had improved since The Awakening, most of women’s roles had stayed the same. In the article, Brady specifies how once a husband is “through with school and has a job, [he expects the] wife to quit working and remain at home so that [she] can more fully and completely take

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

An average, women during the 1960’s were held accountable for many responsibilities. Women led very different lives during this time period. Punctual, responsible, and reliable were just some of the many standards that were expected from society. At the age of twenty women were expected to be married; soon after they would become pregnant. Raising a family and devoting their lives to be the best housewives possible. Legally women made no earnings or any income for that matter. Child care and in vigorous chores were a part of their daily routine. Women had no say financially. Women had one duty, and that was to be a housewife. Men had all the control in marriages; after all they were the bread winners. Women were stuck in a vicious cycle of controlling and power hungry men. Comparing women from the 10960’s to the women in today’s generation is quite astonishing. The women’s rights movement fought for women to be free. Women no longer need to be chained to such degrading and depressing circumstances. Raising a family and having a husband is a beautiful goal most women dream of. However, we should also have the right to decide when we want to marry and to whom we believe is the right candidate. “Why I Want a Wife” written by Judy Brady raises a powerful message on women in the 1960’s. Judy touches upon the idea that women had constantly been expected to be in confined and submissive relationships. Brady perfectly depicts the

Stevenson, the author observes: “In modern America the home is not the boundary of a woman’s life.” Stevenson describes the task for women, as spouses and moms, has extraordinary preferences, and the author comments how the home can empower women integrity. Essentially, Stevenson wants to advance gender balance by encouraging females, with an emphasis on recognizing and giving ladies more self-sufficiency to deal with their own lives. Gender equality does not imply that men and ladies turn into the same; an entrance to circumstances and life changes is neither subject to, nor obliged by, their gender. Stevenson realizes that gender uniformity requires ladies’ strengthening to guarantee that basic leadership at private and public levels, and access to assets are no longer weighted to support men, so that both ladies and men can completely take an interest in equivalent

The roles and expectations for women in the 1950s differed in many ways from today’s society. “Society placed high importance and many expectations on behavior at home as well as in public” (Colorado.edu). In the 1950s women were considered “housewives”. Women’s sole purpose was to maintain the home, take care of the children, provide meals, and be obedient wives. “Good wives” listened to their

So, with the struggle of the American dream at hand, the role of a female in America changed for the better. The new young American woman was no longer rushed to get married. “Between 1880 and 1930, a bachelor

Before 1939, the “ideal woman” was the devoted housewives whose sole purposes in life was to be devoted to her husband, raise the children, and keep a tidy house. However, all

Beginning in the late 1800’s, the daily life of a woman was very crucial and consistent. Starting from early morning until dusk, the women would care for children, clean the house, and provide any other services they could. Throughout the late 1800’s, women were treated unfairly due to the women assisting their families, caring for children, and being an American housewife.

The post-war era had shaped society into conforming gender roles, where the normal family consisted of men that worked and women staying at home. It was not until 1963 when Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminist Mystique, started a new wave of feminism and women’s liberation from the suburban housewife role. Friedan was very critical about women and professional work, as she states in her book, “In the late fifties, a sociological phenomenon was suddenly remarked: a third of American women now worked. But most were no longer young and very few were pursuing careers. They were married women who held part-time jobs, selling or secretarial, to put their husbands through school, their sons

In the 1800’s, the women responsibilities were to maintain order in the house, protect and discipline the students. In the 21st century, now women are not just responsible for cleaning, cooking and discipling children, instead women can now work and impose some of those tasks on their husbands. In the story “Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society”, as the home is considered the “woman’s kingdom” and that it is the women responsibility to “make the lives of her husband and the dear ones committed to her trust, is the honored task which it is the wife’s province” (Gutenberg 1), most of their time is spent in the home making sure the home is kept under control and ready to serve her husbands and children. In reference to the speech by Emma Watson, she states that “we need to end gender inequality” (Watson 1), which in the 21st century it is coming closer to reality. Women now don’t have to remain at home all day, they can now work just like men and provide for their families the same way men do.

Maria strongly supported female education. Maria believed that men and women are equal, and should be treated that way. Maria Mitchell grew up in a Quaker family, and they believe in education for both genders. So, Maria’s parents also strongly supported equal education. Maria’s father worked at a school, and then founded his own school. Maria Mitchell wanted to prove to women that their gender doesn’t stop them. She never used the excuse that she was a woman, and never assumed that she was not capable of doing something. The Nantucket Scrap Basket, a book about people from Nantucket by William Macy, said that once “A gentleman who still cherished the theory of woman’s incapacity for any attainment not purely domestic, once asked Prof. Mitchell if she did not think that the delicate organization of woman unfitted her for the irregular hours which the night work in astronomy necessitated. “Sir,” Miss Mitchell replied, in her deep masculine voice, “my mother had more night work than astronomy will ever demand of any woman. She brought up eight children” (Macey). Maria was recognized as being hard-working and determined, and therefore went on to be the first women elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society, and the first professor hired at Vassar College. This proved to women that females have the capability and capacity to do the same as men. “Do let us have equal rights for

Judy Brady, talks about how the perfect wife for a man need to be. Although, the times changed and now is more equality between the women and the men. There are still men who follow the customs of their parents, so they will in the same way at the women. For example, in some cases the woman is still the one who cleans the house, take care of the children, and take care for the husband. all this happens because the man makes it appear that the woman has less right them. Society has changed the way of thinking about equality, but it still remains a problem when it comes to taking roles. Now some of the women have made their way to the same level as the men because it has been seen that in some cases the woman is the one who gives the money to

If one were to look in to the trend of working women in America, it would be flabbergasting to see how far they have come since the 19th century. Working women have become a dominant force in the workplace. According to recent analysts, women now control 50 percent of the paid workforce (Pollitt). It is no surprise then that divorce rates have been steadily increasing directly proportional to the divorce rate. There is a clear relationship between the success of women in America and their ability to live independently. Due to this newfound independence, many women no longer feel trapped in marriages that they are not happy in or that they are being either physically or verbally abused. With nearly “80 percent [of women] contributing a major chunk of family income” (Pollitt), it is clear that women have now set the benchmark in equality. They are no longer