The Myth Of Co-Parenting Hope Edelman Summary

There is a huge debate going on today about gender. Society believes you’re a boy if you like blue, and like to play sports and go hunting; and you’re a girl if you like pink and have long hair and pig tails and play with Barbie dolls. Society has forced us to choose between the two. I believe that both women and men can both have it all. As Dorment says, ‘competing work life balance and home as much as women’. (Dorment 697) I believe in this article Richard Dorment, has argued his opinion very well, I think both men and woman equally need to be involved in housework as well as taking care of the children. In today’s world were judging who were going to be even before were born. Throughout this article Dorment effectively convinces his audience that men and women should be equal by using statistics and emotional stories, Dorment uses personal stories and extensive research to make readers believe in his credibility, and lastly Dorment employs the rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos effectively.

“The Myth of Co-Parenting; How it Was Supposed to Be. How it Was” by Hope Edelman and “My problem with Her Anger” by Eric Bartels both explain the strain child rearing and lack of communication can put upon a marriage. The two articles describe their personal experiences with this issue, but the authors have differing points of view on the subject. Although they have different perspectives, both Edelman and Bartels explore ideas of traditional gender roles and unrealistic expectations in relationships.

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 the essay “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All” by Richard Dorment, the topic of equality in the genders is explored. This topic includes various aspects of the lives of men and women, including work in and out of the home. Dorment responds to other opinions and viewpoints and explains why “no one can have it all.” He brings up many convincing arguments that show why the feminist push for equals rights for women is not producing the outcome that people want it to have. I agree with what much of Dorment is saying in this essay, and the following paragraphs will explain Dorment’s argument.

Ed is described as the ‘cornerstone of mediocrity’ who lives in a ‘shack’ in a less desirable part of town, who has ‘no real potential’. Throughout the text Ed completes an array of different tasks giving the readers an inside perspective of the experiences. ‘Old lady Milla’ is one of Ed’s many tasks, he supplies her with the company she so desperately needs, but not only did he help her, she ‘put a piece of her heart inside’ him. The readers see Ed’s transformation from ‘dickhead Ed’ to a kind gentlemen willing to spend his time reading to a ‘lonely’ ‘old lady’ of which he barely knows. One of the toughest challenges Ed faces is his Ma, ‘one of his darkest hours’ as Ed is forced to confront his mother.

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

Then, she wrote the essay “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” in order to talk about women and those elements that were ignored: race, sexuality, class, and age. By a patriarchal world, women need a freedom, which allows them to be by active, not in order to be used by passive. White feminists have educated themselves in the past many years, and then how about women of color? As women, there are no differences, so those who are differences need to learn how to stand alone in order to seek a world in which we can all flourish. “It is learning how to take our differences and make them strength(112).” However, is the feminist education only by women could change the situation of the patriarchal

In “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, the author argues that the roles of a wife are unfair and more demanding than a husband's, thereby they are treated as lesser than a man. Brady supports her claim by first, introducing herself as a wife, showing her empirical knowledge; secondly, cataloging the unreasonable expectations of a wife; finally ending the essay with an emotional and thought-provoking statement, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” Brady’s purpose is to expose the inequality between the roles of a husband and of a wife in order to show that women do not belong to men and to persuade women to take action and stand up for themselves. Based on when this essay was written and since it is about the impossible expectations of a wife, Brady was writing to feminists in the 1960s in order to rally them to create a change in the way people thought.

In life we are told to “have it all” by raising a perfect family, getting a beautiful house, and having a high paying job; but is it possible to have it all? How many people can honestly have it all, when so many are just trying to survive? In the articles, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” and “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter and Richard Dorment, discuss how women function in the workplace and the different expectant outcomes for each, mainly focusing on the upper class. The primary objective of Slaughter’s passage was to show how women are treated poorly and how they are held to a different standard than their male counterparts. Dorment focused mostly on how neither women nor men should strive to “have it all” because nobody can. Together they consider the subjects of workplace discrimination, housework standards, family involvement, and striving to “have it all.”

The book describes how complex societal dictation dominated the lives of women and left no room for growth as a unique individual with a passion other than homemaking. It called upon women to take a stand against these so called norms and “seek new opportunities for themselves” (“Betty Friedan”). It instantly became sensation and “continues to be regarded as one of the most influential nonfiction books of the 20th century” (Michals). It struck a nerve with all women alike, leading to a “feminist explosion” (Kaplan) because of the recognition of themselves in Friedan’s work (Parry) and the familiarity shared between the women created a sense of community. It also brought public awareness to the glamorized domestication of

Edelman opens her essay by recalling the countless hours early in her marriage in which her husband spent working (50). With his hours increasing, she unwillingly cut back on her own work hours to care for their child. Edelman then spends time sharing her disillusionment with the newfound reality of her

In this article, Amy Walburn argues that the debate entitled “Having it all,” should include women who have nothing. In her opening statement she points out that the quest to “have it all,” means that educated women like her need to fight for equality in all aspects of life. The article begins with a brief introduction of her life, which justifies her position to air her view with regard to the topic in question. Walburn says that he experience as a young professional in America, and a woman who is in the verge of constructing her family, she has had the urge to speak on challenges that women face around the globe.

The Women’s Rights Movement has come and gone, but women’s equality is still a touchy subject. While women have the technical rights of any man in this country, society’s stereotype of a wife is still suppressing their expectations for themselves in a new “free” era. Women are now exploring the work force, but at the same time it is somewhat unwanted. AAUW shows this by referring to the pay gap between genders. The organization that empowers women says that the pay gap between genders is rampant and saturates not only male-dominant professions, but neutral, and even female-saturated lines of work. Judy Brady sarcastically argues the situation with her essay, “Why I Want a Wife”. She uses pathos to examine society’s thinking of the wife’s role in her spouse’s life.

Robert Dorment’s summary from his article talked about that women always complained about men did wrong but men who worked so hard for their family and work-life balance. Richard used that word “castigate” for men that means women scold men, but they did not realize men worked so hard. Other quote about the castigation of men, “…person whose husband, by her own admission, sacrificed much in his own academic career to do other heavy lifting with their children, all so she could pursue her dream job and then complain about it, bitterly, in the pages of a national magazine” (Dorment 708). Anne-Marie Slaughter explained that women who get promotion from other positions that they realized they do not have spent time with their family and some women who leave their jobs because of their family reasons. The quote said, “It is unthinkable that an official would actually step down to spend time with his or her family that this must be a cover for something else” (Slaughter 682). Third article called Women, work and work/life balance: Research roundup talked about the wage inequality and unequal responsibilities between men and women. Women have more family responsibilities than men do because some women are staying at home while taking care of their kids. Last article, Work-Life Balance – An integrated Approach: The case for joint and several responsibility talked about the

Feminism in modern times has been misconstrued and framed in a way that favors women over men. Although not the intention, women want to be placed first. This has led to a cycle where women subconsciously seek approval for everything they do. There is a constant need to be recognized for the effort and success they acquire through their hard work. Is that not in itself a contradiction to what feminism should stand for? Women now have free will yet are oppressed in their way of thinking; a clear indication of how frozen in time the mentality of women is. Feminism was a concept envisioned to allow all sexes enjoy and share the same socio-economic status. The Color Purple was set in the early Twentieth century where women were not really allowed free will and were expected to be totally submissive to men. Celie, however, exhibited true feminism at her prime age when she discovered herself and accomplished herself as an independent and successful woman. True feminism is a path of self-discovery to be independent and successful without comparison to anyone or sex (gender). The purpose of this essay is to explain how the evolution of men and women to the twenty-first century has made feminism pointless.