Gender Roles In Marriage Essay - 2,692 words

GENDER ROLES IN MARRIAGE ABSTRACT In no developing region do women experience equality with men. This clear-cut
statement from the World Bank, the reputed international monetary institution, relays one of the most apparent yet often overlooked
realities of our timegender inequality. Gender inequality is a significant social concern that deserves to be analyzed with the utmost
diligence using both empirical and scholastic evidences. This paper aims to discuss the facts of gender inequality as experienced by
ordinary men and women, many of whom live in relative poverty and depravation in societies that maintain inequitable and
unproductive practices. Specifically, this paper aims to answer the question of whether the presence of gender inequality reduces
growth and development of an economy. Investigating this question, however, calls for an understanding of the roots of gender
inequality. Gender inequality is deeply entangled in the fabric of the everyday lives of many men and women, and it has been in
existence since time immemorial.

Gender inequality, from its very name, implies an uneven treatment based on ones gender. Essentially, gender inequality is the
prejudice that one gender, usually the female, is secondary and subordinate to the more capable and hence superior male gender.
Many societies practice gender inequality, with the men reinforcing it and the women passively receiving it, because it is considered
part of an enduring patriarchal culture. Deviating from this norm means that one runs the risk of being branded a weak husband or a
bad, undeserving wife. Both cases are an embarrassment to the individual and the family. Introduction Women were historically
subjugated to inferior roles, tasks and perceptions by society, even by the Holy Church. WIC described how St. Jerome, a 4th-
century Latin father of the Christian church, pointed out: "Woman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the
serpent, in a word a perilous object Womens History in America).

The struggle of women for their rightful place with men from the confines of their homes to the highest steps of economic and
political ladders began in the 19th century. Women Power in the 19th century In the 19th century, the civil rights movement was in
full swing, while Industrial Revolution started in the cities (Encyclopedia Britannica, Women in American History: The 19th
Century). During this time, men and women left their rural homes to engage in industrial work of the urban cities. Women from other
countries migrated to America, hoping for better opportunities. This transfusion of multiethnic human resources overcrowded
industrialized cities. However, since women were stereotyped for certain jobs, many of them have worked only in textile, garment
shops, household responsibilities, and education.

The rooms of the factories and textile or garment shops were jam-packed with busy women and children. These rooms were called
sweatshops because women and children toiled for 12 hours or more in these poorly ventilated, unhygienic and congested places
(WIC Womens History in America). Factory owners preferred women and children because their labor was cheaper than men, and
they worked long hours without complaint. There were no labor laws at first that took care of the welfare of women workers, nor
were there anti-child labor policies. Women also labored in mills and mines (Dawson Women and Children in Industrial Revolution).
The work was harder for women because they worked even when they were pregnant. Aside from harsh working conditions, they had
to go back home at the end of the day to work for their families, thus, women experienced multiple burdens.

Women adapted to these work conditions for a long time before reformers in the industries created policies, called Factory Acts,
where working hours for women were limited to twelve hours, and not earlier than 6 am or no later than 6 pm (Dawson Working
Conditions in the Industrial Revolution). How women adapted and survived in the 19th century showed their inner strength amidst all
odds. They were viewed as inferior being, second-class citizens, the weaker sex, temptress, and other demeaning labels (WIC
Womens History in America). Yet the same women being looked down were the same women, who performed domestic duties to the
dot, after toiling for 12 hours or more in factories, mines, households, farms, or anywhere they could work for a payment much lesser
than what men get. Despite the uncanny ability to work amidst harsh conditions, and the docility to accept women discrimination,
scores of women still remained as progressive-thinking individuals. Many, especially the middle-class women, knew that they were
overworked at their homes and workplaces, and yet enjoyed few political and economic freedom and opportunities. By 1948, a group
of women gathered to talk about their suffrage at Seneca Falls, New York (NWHM Motherhood, Social Service and Political
Reform). They were called Suffragists, as their main demand was suffrage.

This was one of the signs of women awakening to change their roles and rights in society. Through this convention, women
recognized the need to organize and lobby for their rights. They lobbied for their right to vote, birth control, property rights, equal
opportunities to work and equal salaries to that of men, and formulation of legislation surrounding these rights (Feminism and
Womens Studies The Womens Movement: Our History). Not only that, they also vied for the emancipation of slaves, whom they
could relate to. Women after all were treated much like slaves, treated as objects, and discriminated at every abominable aspect.
Women abolitionists, like the Grimke sisters, voiced out their dissent over slavery and argued for the freedom of all slaves (WIC
Womens History in America).

Women intended that through lobbying publicly and openly discussing women issues at the home level, and abolishing slavery, the
women and the rest of the society would radically alter perspectives on women stereotypes, and thereby, work collectively in
responding to women concerns in the 19th century. Women Power During and After World War I (1914-1919) This was the first time
the government deliberately hired women in the military. Many of the suffragists joined and served the government, hoping that
somehow through this contribution in a national event, womens concerns would also be highlighted (Goldstein War and Gender).
However, not all women supported the war, as some advocated to stop war and initiate peace. The womens rights movement gained
something from being involved in World War I directly, and even indirectly: the right to vote by 1920, a step toward equal
employment opportunities, and the rightful place to work side-by-side men in national affairs. There were short-term gains however
on changing women roles and perceptions (Goldstein War and Gender).

After the war, the Army and the Marines stopped enlisting women in their ranks. The struggle for women rights continued until the
World War II and after the Great Depression. Women Power During and After World War II (1917-1945) After World War II,
particularly during the 60s and 70s, the womens movement was revitalized. The National Organization for Women was formed in
1966. This organization fought not just for the equality of men and women in the fields of employment, education and others, but also
a national change in gender thinking and gender roles. They lobbied and were successful in enacting laws that prohibited
discrimination of any form to women in any field, especially that of education, employment and credit access.

This movement coincided with the Afro-American race revolution that advocates the equality among men and women, with no
discrimination between races or ethnic origins (Womens Movement 386; Womens Rights Movement 109; Feminism and Womens
Studies The Womens Movement). Those who truly understand the psychological importance of home life do not treat it lightly, do
not take for granted or denigrate its importance. They never dismiss as mere habit what is really deep emotional attachment. Too
many are surprised at how badly they feel after divorce and suddenly miss the security they had. The person one has been for so
long, whose bed and life one has shared, with one fought and made up, had children, planted gardens, taken walks, means more than
one perhaps realizes. It is a fact that undisrupted, harmonious home life is best for ones psychological and physical health.

To preserve ones marriage requires sensitivity to ones partner. If one, as the books advice, focuses exclusively on how to make the
most of oneself, the union will fail. It all boils down to the values of each person in the union. Speakers who talk on married life a
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