Simone De Beauvoir Research Paper

Since the beginning of time women were never treated as equals to men. Men have always been seen as stronger and the providers for their families. Women are often viewed as the nurturers and caregivers for their family. Women’s role in society has always been to make sure that everyone is happy and healthy while, men go out and work to make sure that women have the necessities they need to keep everyone happy.

Throughout history, men and women have been viewed in utterly different spheres. Men have been, and still are, believed to be the hard working individual who is in charge of “bringing home the bacon” and supporting the household finically. On the other hand, women are expected to have little to say, the house spotless, supper on the table, the children bathed, fed, in bed, and educated, all while maintaining a flawless hairdo and makeup. These stereotypes seem a bit offensive nowadays, but if you really consider it, it has been and most likely will be this way for our entire existence.

Women’s rights have improved drastically since that time but there still is a stigma that men are better than women. This type of view is wrong and shouldn’t even be thought about in the world we live into today. Woman server a great purpose in the world we live in and should be considered equal in all aspects of life. If one were to ponder this idea seriously we can see without out women no children are born. The sad truth is that women still have to fight for their rights in every aspect of their daily lives. The typical women in society makes only .70 cents for every dollar that a man would make doing the same job. One would think that one hundred and fifty years later women would be considered equal counterparts to men. “There has been progress toward greater workplace equality, but we still have a long ways to

In “The End of Men?,” an article featured in The Atlantic in summer 2010, author Hanna Rosin illustrates the drastic, ascending shifts perceived in modern society. Rosin poises the theory of how men were traditionally seen as the superior gender. The author believes there is a contractionary shift in gender roles and that the new era is “[B]etter suited to women” (Rosin 304). Recent studies show that women are becoming prominent in the workforce, education, and family. Accordingly, she explains how women are miraculously able to balance work while nurturing their children. Rosin believes that this occurs because men are not biologically made to tend children. Additionally, Rosin analyses how men lost “8 million jobs” during the Great Recession (Rosin 306). During that time, women were becoming what made a majority of the workforce. There were increases in women’s presence in what used to be male-dominated fields: school, politics, and business. Rosin questions this drastic shift concerning women and men’s roles in society, stating how they are now equally competing for jobs. Moreover, the way women behave now show their commendable abilities in the workforce and how society is changing as they establish their dominance and authority everyday. Once, women were frowned upon, but nowadays, more people favor having girls than boys. Today’s era is commending women with their admirable work ethic and self-worth. Throughout most of history, men dominated the

In the national General Social Survey (GSS), more than one-third of the public agree with this statement: “It is much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside the home and the woman takes care of the home and family.” Thus, the cultural belief of Woman’s Rights is (and is still) being used today. Though with it’s positive actions also comes with its strained bias and social issues. Women are often treated by men as “pure” and should be “protected”

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’s role within the household has changed considerably over a period of time. In the later days in the United States women were to attend to the children and to the house and not do much more than that. Children are now being raised by stay at home dads instead of the stereotypical stay at home moms. According to Gardner, "Real-life families have changed considerably since 'Mr. Mom ' appeared, with more men sharing child-rearing and household chores." (Gardner 2010) This is occurring because women’s jobs are no longer labeled as being just for women. Men have gotten a lot of criticism for being stay at

Women throughout time have experienced position changes more times than can be counted. Not just in modern times, gender roles began in the B.C.E era. In Egypt and India, gender roles were a huge part of society. In both locations, male’s word was law. What they said was the final answer and a woman could not change that. The gender distinctions were similar in ways that women had minimal power in familiar locations, like their homes. They had a small opinion about certain subjects, but they never ventured out of the comfort zone of subjects they were allowed to discuss. Men were treated better than women, yes, but the power women held was used for some of the most important topics.

I am so sick of hearing about the constant indifference that exist within our society. It is not enough to say “we are in the twenty-first century, we should be tolerant of all races, religions, and genders.” Yet, this claim blatantly avoids many of issues at hand. French author Simone de Beauvoir states, “the reason for [the gender inequality] is that women lack concrete means for organization themselves into a unit” (257). I deeply agree with Beauvoir claim that many of women’s inequalities could be combated with greater organization, but the burden does not simply lay on the women. Men throughout all of history are responsible for perpetuating the ideology that women exclusively live to be subservient to men (Beauvoir 257). Beauvoir goes as far to state that the advances women had succeed upon up until the latter twentieth century were merely what men were willing to allow. This is apparent as she writes, “they (women) have gained only what men have been willing to grant; they have taken nothing, they have only received” (Beauvoir p. 257). In this respect, I do not agree with Beauvoir. From Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Susan B. Anthony, to as recently as Hilary Clinton, women have advocated for themselves struggling and succeeding in gaining acceptance, respect, and a higher standard of equality.

Long gone are the days when women were expected to stay at home and play “housewife”, cooking, cleaning, and making sure the kids got off to school, while their husbands worked a 9 to 5 in order to make ends meet. Today, women are no longer viewed as weak and incapable. A “superwoman” is the new woman. Men as the “breadwinners” have been replaced by “Ms. Independent.” The traditional male role has diminished as women fulfill bigger roles in society and exceed the expectations of their male counterparts in the household, workforce, and within social settings. We have abandoned old rules; no longer is it a “man’s world,” we now live in a shared world.

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

Their position in society was no longer just in the home as a wife, they now had the choice to work outside the home if they wanted to and through the introduction of contraception they could decide when and if they wanted children. They now could make decisions and have an impact on society. Macionis & Plummer (2002:31) highlight the fact that it is evident that sociology was centred on men and the voices of women were devoid. They argue that it was because of feminism and feminist theories that there was a significant change within society for women.

In the 1960s to 1970s, a feminist movement began and sparked a change in attitudes towards women in familial roles and pushed against gender inequality. This movement’s effects trickled down to the opinions and actions of people in the later 1970s to mid-1980s. The period saw a decline in the backing of the traditional family wife role for women and greater acceptance for women finding employment (Mason, K.O., Lu, Y., 1988). However, the change also encountered backlash, with the growth of employed mothers came concerns of the negative effects on the children and their relationship with the mother (Mason, K.O., Lu, Y., 1988). This triggered an inconsistent time for family structure. The nineties saw

Not only are woman subjected to society norms based on their personality characteristics, but also on their life choices and “domestic responsibilities” questions arise for woman like “who will care for you children and husband”. Montague Kern and Paige P. Edley state that women will continue to be “criticized for abandoning their traditional family roles” (1). This topic is not something that is brought up to their male counterparts. I don’t believe I have ever heard a man be questioned on who was going to assume the responsibility of raising their children. So until society genuinely accepts that raising children and other domestic issues are shared endeavors, then women will continue to face this barrier. (Robson, 208)

The roles of men and women have drastically altered the past century and men now take on some responsibilities that were once viewed as tasks of a woman. As a result women have been able to advance their careers, express their political views, and have become equals next to men in society, which illustrates that had women not been discriminated against and viewed as the homemaker for so long, equality between men and women would have occurred ages ago. In my vision of society an individual's sex would not inhibit one from fully participating in the activities of the community that he or she desired. The burden of childbirth for women would still be present but after the child was born, men would play a more prominent role in the tasks of raising his son or daughter. Sharing the benefits and burdens of child-rearing responsibilities will allow both the male and female to maintain steady employment and balance their schedules to make time for family and a career. Females that wish to enter a profession will be accepted solely upon their abilities, not their gender, and seen as equals in the work place. Should a working woman choose to start a family she deserves a sufficient amount of time away from work (with pay) to care for herself and her newborn baby without being hassled by her employer for not being entirely committed to her job. Also, a man should receive certain benefits