Happy Days, Father Knows Best, Eight Is Enough I Dream Essay

David Farber’s in his book The Age of Great Dreams, the realm of women in America was restricted every aspect, from domestic life to the workplace. Women were anticipated to tail one path (Farber 62). That was, to get married in her 20s, have a family rapidly, and commit her life to domestic chores. As one woman at the time pointed out, women did not really anticipate much from life. That was because she was there as a keeper to both her husband and her children. Therefore, spouses held full responsibilities of child care and housekeeping thus, spending up to 50 hours a week on home errands. They were legitimately subjects to their spouses thru head and ace edicts, and lawful they were not entitled to any of their husbands ' finances or property, beside a constrained ideal to appropriate support. Husbands, on the contrary, were allowed to keep an eye on their wives’ income and property. If in any case the marriage failed, a break up was hard to acquire, as no fault separation was impossible, hence, coercing women to demonstrate wrongdoing with respect to their partners in order to get a divorce.

All housework does not necessarily need to be left for women to do but if there could be the division of labor, then a lot of burdens will be lifted off their backs.

Throughout history, women have been groomed to be the best they can domestically. To place them in the man’s position of being the sole provider of the family seems irrational at best. Although the natural gender roles may be overpowering during the start of having a family, through time duties between husband and wife, regarding domestic life, tend to balance out once financial security is established. Like many major changes, it starts out bumpy but eventually a solution is found and both husband and wife find their “happy-medium.”

Before the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, women were meant to remain in the household and do all the work there. They were supposed to take raise the children, maintain the house, support the husband, and be overall dependent on men. Women did not often work outside of their homes nor did they have any real independence to say or do whatever they pleased. For the most part, women were very dependent on men for most things in their lives. Women were meant to be meek,

Prior to World War II women were seen as house wives, taking care of children and tending the gardens. Women generally accepted these roles because family was a prior economic unit. Even during World War I the contributions were housewife like, washing clothing, cooking, helping the wounded, sewing, knitting clothing, and etc. The images of women taking care of the home while men were off working were so nailed into the head that some states banned women from jobs. Once the war started to take place the war effort was so great men and women had to set aside gender roles for the sake of their countries being. Women left families, education, and other jobs to work the jobs men took on while they were off serving the country in combat, etc.

Women for years have been automatically given the role of the domestic housewife, where their only job is to cook, clean, and take care of the children. Men have usually taken the primary responsibility for economic support and contact with the rest of society, while women have traditionally taken the role of providing love, nurturing, emotional support, and maintenance of the home. However, in today’s society women over the age of sixteen work outside of the home, and there are more single parent households that are headed by women than at any other time in the history of the United States (Thompson 301.)

Women during the 19th century, according to Historian Barbara Welters were “hostage of the home”. (Brown, 2012) Women were considered what we know now as home wives, without really the option of doing anything outside of the home. When the Civil War began, that meant that men left home

Whether it is the past or the present, there have always been gender roles in society. In most homes, it is the woman’s responsibility to take care of the house. This includes cleaning, meal preparations, raising and taking care of the children as well as the husband. Compared to the men who take care of the more physical activities, such as yard work. It was known throughout many years that it was a woman’s responsibility to stay in the house while the man would go out and look for work to provide money for his family. Although the intensity of gender roles has changed, it still exists.

At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century, there were many changes to public ideology that affected the way that women perceived their roles in society. Prior to these changes, women had adopted the beliefs of separate “spheres” separating work into public life and their duties as mothers at home1. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and provide a warm, welcoming home for their husbands to take refuge from public life. Women became aware of their lack of legal and political power after the American Revolutionary War ended as they were denied the right to the same freedoms that granted the right to vote to the white, property-owning male population2. Despite granting women more liberty to run businesses, farms,

Even though it is over a hundred years ago the same situations still occur today. Our culture has gone very far with woman's independence, but there are still many women out there who dream of getting out of the "I'm just a wife" role that haunts them.

Throughout the U.S history, women have fought a long journey in order to be treated fairly and equally. When women arrived to this country, they were seen as housewives who only served their families, nothing less and nothing more. As time progressed, many women started to disagree with the idea of being just housewives and believed they were capable of many great things such as having the right to vote, and being able to work outside of home. Eventually, it started to create inequalities of the legal statuses of men and women. Around the mid-nineteenth century, the women’s right movement started bringing controversial

The initial answer is that women today can not simply give up their roles of motherhood and wife because they have gained ground outside the home. Household and child care responsibilities still apply to women even if she wakes early to start her 9am job and doesn't return home until 5pm. Yet, this answer is inherently problematic. The responsibilities discussed above should not mean an inequitable amount of time spent on her children and family as compared to her husband. House-hold responsibilities should not result in less sleep than her husband and having less time

Consideration should be given to the difference in time periods. From here on, was born the “quiet revolution” which involved women leaving their homes for employment and men rejecting the change.

As a result, men have more freedom to act as they please, resulting in more economic opportunities in relation to women who traditionally have been given the role of housewives, placing them at an economic disadvantage and unequal opportunities. Likewise, the effects of migration on gender relations influence the change of family dynamics and structure. Women in their home countries often assume greater responsibilities due to the long absences of men who migrate in the search of better life opportunities for their families. In this situation, traditional roles tend to become more flexible, as women become a main decision maker for the family, their authority increased in the household, and are more independent in general.

Until the mid-19th century, women were considered possessions of their husbands, and had no control over their money or property. Thanks to the women’s right movement, this has all changed and things run a little differently now. Spouses are now equal under the law and property is shared between them.