For Thursday’s class, we are reading two articles in our textbook: “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson and “Falling Back on Plan B,” by Kathleen Gerson. Please include a summary of both of the articles. For further information, please include five ways in which women’s rights have improved in the last few decades (include link to informational websites and videos). For the second article by Gerson, discuss the ways in which families continue to change and how this is impacting your generation. Come up with a discussion question for your classmates about one of these articles. Be sure to bring your book to class.
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Sociology of the Family 
In Jackson’s article it talks about how gender inequality has evolved slowly to gender equality. Not all equality laws and trends were on purpose though, the economy and state treated people as potential voters. Politicians and powerful men seeked to gain popularity amongst the public by supporting and passing legislation that gave women more rights and leeway in society (Jackson, 89). For a long time there seemed to be two different spheres for men and women, women were to be masters of the household and men the breadwinners (Jackson, 91).
From 1890 to 1940 women began to receive better education, enter the workforce, and have more marriage rights. They still faced many obstacles since they did not really have any chance to get a high position on the workplace or really do anything in government. They also were still expected to raise the children mainly, and were subject to heavy discrimination (Jackson, 92-93).
Women’s rights have increased over the years substantially in many ways, they have greater freedom in reproductive choice (1973), employment protection for workers needing extended time off to care for family members (1993), and protections against violence (1994). (Morse)(http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/February/20070226171718ajesrom0.6366846.html#ixzz1YWMiJsR8)
They have also received suffrage as well as the more options in the field of marriage and divorce. Despite these gains women are still facing problems, they still have little pull in governments across the world. Only fourteen women hold the position of either State or Head of Government. While only thirteen of the five hundred largest companies have female CEO’s (UN). (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/Worldswomen/WW2010pub.htm)
Gerson’s article discusses more about family and how they are changing. Times of the old family where the dad works a nine to five job and the mom stays home and does the cooking and the cleaning are nearly extinct. In today’s society women are more concerned with being breadwinners since the uncertainty of finding a stable partner that can mix work, the family and caretaking is a real threat (Gerson, 103). The reason so many kids are worried about their futures, for most, is due to their own upbringing as a child.
Those that grew up in a single parent household have mixed feelings about their parent’s breakups. About half said they would have preferred them to stay together while the other half said it was a necessary evil. On the other hand those who were raised in homes where the marriage lasted and both parents worked were satisfied with the benefits of what came with a dual income. Children tend to aim their focus more on the ability of the parent or parents, and how they cope with the dual role of parent and worker (Gerson, 104).
Kids find that a steady economic base along with support for them was much more useful and provided a good childhood. They did not care what kind of family form they took on as long as they were provided for. Most kids want the family that has two breadwinners along with a flexible partnership and low stress (Gerson, 108).
Each gender has ideas of finding a partner, but they also have back up plans. Women tend to want to be able to work in case they never find a partner or they get divorced or left. Men have a plan B that resembles the traditional home, where the women take up home duties and the men work (Gerson 109-111). With more and more women making sure they have a secure future they tend to take longer to settle down and have children. The average age of first marriage is now 25 for women and 27 for men- up from 20 and 23 in 1960 (Sloan Work and Family Research Network, 2). This link gives many more statistics on changing family trends and more: http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/pdfs/changefam.pdf . In Australia the number of single parent families is raised by 60% from 1986 to 2001 (Australian Census Bureau). As you can see in this link: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/2559632155bf56b8ca2570eb00835396!OpenDocument , there has been a rise in single parents families and a slight decrease in couples with children.
Jackson’s article entitled “Destined for Equality”, discusses women’s rise from inequality to almost equal to men. Through various methods, some intentional and some un intentional, women have rose to almost equal status as men in America today. One hundred and fifty years ago most people would say that women’s equality is impossible and even undesirable. Jackson describes a system of two spheres, which portrays how men and women’s roles used to be perceived. “For a long time there seemed to be two different spheres for men and women, women were to be masters of the household and men the breadwinners” (Jackson, 91). Today, women hold high-ranking positions in such fields as business, economics, and government proving that these two spheres have become close to one single sphere.
Contrary to the status women held in the early 1800s to 1900s, women today now have independent citizenship. This means women have the same liberties as men. This includes the control of their person and property.
Women who at one time were forced to marry someone they were assigned to now have the opportunity to marry whoever they want, if anyone at all. Women’s sexuality was perceived much different than it is today. Women today are accepted as strait or gay and are not frown upon for having pre marital sex. Women’s sexuality is seen as almost equal to men’s today.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s women were more able to receive further education. Secondary education was becoming more widely accepted and normal for women who qualified. Today, it is expected that women further their education just as far as men with hopes of obtaining a respected job.
Today, women can vote, which they were not allowed to do for quite some time. This all seems strange in that today, women hold some of the most important positions in our government. All women now have a chance to serve at any level of government if they choose to do so.
http://wbl.worldbank.org/methodology
This website focuses on the laws and regulations around the world on women and their ability to provide their own income. This includes opening and running their own small business or obtaining a job.
This you-tube video is of Professor Susan Regier lecturing on the change of women’s roles in society and how they have gotten to this point.
The Gerson article focuses on the difficulties of different types of families. Gerson discusses the struggles between mother and father or either parents struggle with being a homemaker or their struggle with their jobs. Balancing a relationship on top of work and children becomes difficult for many families. Some families find ways in which they can successfully sustain a fulfilling marriage and be satisfied with their position in the family. Other times the stresses of providing and satisfying their significant other or children becomes too much and negative things begin to happen. Gerson describes the various types of families out there whether it’s the two earner parents, single parents, or another caretaker who steps in the guardian role. Gerson gives many real life accounts taken directly from interviews with people ranging from the ages of 18-30 giving insight into the various types of families existing within the United States.
One thing that is discussed within the article is the rising number of single adults. Many adults today find themselves single. Whether this comes from a divorce or never marriage at all the number is still growing. Gerson claims it may be a “decline of commitment” amongst adults. This could mean adults become too committed to their work or studies and find no need to settle down with a significant other, or this could be attributed to the increased rate of divorce. Many people today see divorce as a more viable way out of a relationship, rather than attempting to make it work between the two partners.
With this being the case, people of my generation are affected. Many more people from my generation have grown up in single parent homes, were sometimes the economic sustainability is difficult. It is no surprise that a single parent could have trouble taking care of another person beside himself or herself if they have been co dependent on another person for the majority of their lives. This can take away from the relationship between a parent and child because a parent may spend an extensive amount of time working to provide the life they see fit for their child.
This is not just the case for single adults. Many parents who are able to keep their relationship stable have similar difficulties with family time. Dual earner parents often times find it difficult to provide what they see as sufficient family time because of both parents commitment to their jobs. With this being said, many families find a flexible way to incorporate family time into a busy schedule.
Gerson’s studies found most people of my generation focusing on how well their families survive in the world as apposed to what form the family took to survive. It seems as if most people are satisfied with their families no matter what path or form their family took to become a functioning satisfied family.
http://www.divorcestatistics.org/
This link gives numerous statistics revolving around divorces within America today.
http://www.rasmusen.org/x/2006/03/16/changes-in-us-consumption-goods-since-1970-two-earner-families/
This link focuses on the changes since 1970, of what families are consuming as families move away from the traditional one earner families to two earner families.
Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality” showcases the progression of equality for women in America. Jackson argues that in nineteenth century America, men controlled everything, enforcing the concept of natural superiority. Women on the other hand, were subordinate to their husbands as well as other male figures. However, America has progressed over the years and as a result, “women are well on the way to becoming men’s equals”(Jackson, pg. 87). Interestingly enough, Jackson notes that modern economic and political organization are the two factors that furthered the transformation by separating social power from gender inequality. America started viewing women as potential voters and workers, which in turn would result in greater profit and political advantages. Jackson categorizes the improvement of women’s history into three categories. One being the Era of Separate Spheres, which women and men lived in two different worlds. Two, the Era of Egalitarian Illusions, where women gained access to voting, divorcing, working, and education. An example of this can be seen in Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvk1NZDFvZU&feature=related ) And finally, the Era of Assimilation, where women partake in the feminine and modern roles. This video provides a brief overview of women’s rights over the past 100 years (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ATz4dVAjuI ). In recent decades women have gained the right to vote, encouraged movements for birth control (as well as the right to choose), have placed a crack in the glass ceiling, have gained a greater political voice, and have excelled in higher education (WIC, pg 1). Even though women have come a long way, Jackson argues that America has not achieved complete equality. Women are still harassed, sexually discriminated and have less economic and political power. I do agree that women have made an almost equal name for themselves, but I also agree with the fact that no matter how far women make it in the world there will always be a sense of male domination; it is something that is ingrained in our minds.
Kathleen Gerson’s “Falling Back on Plan B” consists of interviews that examine family paths. Children whose families consist of a traditional mother and a breadwinning father are divided. Half believed this was the best arrangement, while the other half argued it would have been better if the mother pursued work, especially in hard financial times. In a study in single families, more than half wanted their parents back together, while the rest saw their parent’s separation as the best thing. And in a dual earner family, ¾ of children were happy because it provided more money and saw their parent’s marriage as satisfying. I found a website that categorizes family structures and dynamics (http://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/parenting/understanding-family-structures-and-dynamics-ga.htm ). Michael Meyerhoff states, “But family structure, like society at large, has undergone significant changes in the years since World War II. While the nuclear family — with Dad, Mom, and offspring happily coexisting beneath one roof-remains the ideal, variations in family structure are plentiful — and often successful” (Meyerhoff, pg 1). The article examines extended families, working and single parents, older parents, stepfamilies, adoption, older siblings, and young parents. In my opinion, these variations broaden the concept of the family and I think in the future it will really change the way people view a “typical household.”
Gerson also compares flexible and inflexible strategies. Flexible strategies consist of parents transcending gender boundaries, which actually benefits a family better, especially in financial crisis. Inflexible strategies, on the other hand, consist of a strict division between mom and dad roles, which puts the family in a poorer position. Most people want to have a committed bond between work and caring, but if all else fails, there is always plan B. Gerson also defines Women’s Plan B and Man’s Plan B. For women, plan B is about being independent and being self reliant, so they do not have to rely on a male figure. As for men, plan is that they still want to be the breadwinner and put their careers firsts, but are okay with women workings; Gerson refers to this as neo traditionalism.
Works Cited
Mary Poppins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvk1NZDFvZU&feature=related
Meyerhoff, Michael, “Understanding Family Structures and Dynamics,” Discovery Health http://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/parenting/understanding-family-structures-and-dynamics-ga.htm
Skolnick, Arlene, and Jerome Skolnick. Family in Transition. 16th ed. Boston: 2011. pp 87-95 and pp 102-113. Print
Women’s History 1911-2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ATz4dVAjuI
“Women’s History in America,” Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. (1994) http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm
In Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality,” he discusses how inequality of men and women has slowed down and how now, few people can say that gender equality is impossible or undesirable. Jackson writes, “For millennia women were subordinate to men under the most diverse economic, political, and cultural conditions. Although the specific content of gender-based roles and the degree of inequality between the sexes varied considerably across time and place, men everywhere held power and status over women” (Jackson, 87). Basically, Jackson explains how 150 years ago, people would have thought you were crazy to believe that one day gender equality could be possible. Jackson believes that men as individuals, slowly reduced resistance to their wives and daughters by extending their responsibilities and letting the women do more activities which weren’t restricted to household shores. Men just naturally began to do this without even knowing that they were doing something completely different from their fathers’ generation. Over time, men began to launch institutional changes that eventually reduced the discrimination against women by allowing them to go to school and become educated. Jackson explains this by including how “Politicians passed laws giving married women property rights. Employers hired women in ever-increasing numbers. Educators opened their doors to women” (Jackson, 89). In today’s society, it is safe to say that we have come a long way in creating equality for men and women. We look back on the days where women were legal and political outcasts and had to listen to whatever their husbands or fathers ordered but now, women have as much educational opportunity as men, and both sexes normally expect women to pursue jobs and their own careers.
1. With few exceptions, female education levels have improved considerably. In South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, girls’ primary enrollment rates doubled in the second half of the 20th Century, rising faster than boys’ enrollment rates and substantially reducing gender gaps in schooling.
2. Another area of progress is women’s life expectancy. Better diets, safer water, and control of communicable diseases have improved health and longevity in many parts of the world.
3. There have also been improvements in women’s labor market position in some regions and countries. Since the 1970s, women’s labor force participation has risen an average of 15 percentage points in East Asian and Latin American countries.
4. Since Beijing, women’s property and inheritance rights have also improved in some countries. One example has been the introduction of joint husband-wife land titling in several Latin American and Asian countries.
5. Although many health indicators in developing countries have improved over the last two decades, maternal mortality ratios have shown little change. Only the Middle East and North Africa region is on target to meet the maternal mortality MDG, which sets out to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015.
Works Cited:
Click to access Chapter2.pdf
In the second article titled “Falling Back on Plan B,” Kathleen Gerson focuses on the many difficulties that family’s face and how those families are changing over time. In the past, women weren’t as worried about stepping into the real world, getting a good education so that they are able to find a good job, instead all they cared about was getting married as quickly as possible and having kids and becoming a stay at home mom. Gerson writes, “Concerned about the difficulty of finding a reliable and egalitarian partner to help them integrate work with family caretaking, most women see work as essential to their own and their children’s survival, whether or not they marry” (Gerson, 103). It is easy to see that unlike a lot of our parents, most people are beginning to get married at much older ages and this is probably because men and women are more focused on getting a good job right away and leaving marriage for a later date.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005061.html
—Chart showing how peoples ages when they get married has increased overtime.
http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/351
—Dr. Phil, marriage and divorce statistics.
In the first article Destined for Equality by Jackson explains how over time there has become equality for men and women. Men were always the breadwinner, they worked in politics, business and they could attend college. Women on the other hand were the ones who stayed home and took care of the house. Powerful men had eventually taken control that reduced discrimination against women. Laws were passed such as, women who were married could not have property rights, employers started hiring women, and they could now attend school/college. (Jackson 89)
There are many ways in which women’s rights have increased during the last decade. A few important roles are they became eligible to vote in 1920, they were expected to go and seek work after the Great Depression and the Stock Market crash in 1929, equal opportunity was offered in 1964 from the Civil Rights Act, they are now given child care funds (1990) and they are now protected from violence (1994). (Morse) As shown women have been given many rights over the past few decades and there is much more equality between genders.
• This video shows the progression of women’s rights in the US
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html
• This website shows the timeline throughout history of women’s right evolving
In the second article Falling Back on Plan B by Gerson explains that there are not always 2 parent families or some parents do not make enough money to support their families. Families are changing drastically. Dads have always been the breadwinners but now women want this same role because they want the satisfaction of working or they are not certain they will ever find the right person to be with or a divorce might occur/one parent could just “walk out”. For example, Josh’s mom went out to find a job so his dad could fight his drug addiction and hopefully this would help the family in the end. (Gerson 105) Another example about Jasmine; her dad just walked out of her family to live with another woman, and her mother fell into depression and lost her grandmother who had also helped out. (Gerson 107)
Families are changing and children and getting different aspects of how a family should be. Some grow up in a 1 parent house, a 2 parent house or a house with 2 parents of the same sex. Whichever way children grow up is the way they think they should raise their family. 34.2% of women who have never been married have custody of their children and 20.9% of men have custody of the kids. Most parents tend to get divorced now and 45% of women have been divorced and 57.8% of men have also. (Single) I think children who grow up in a 1 parent household may not have some of the same things as children in a 2 parent family but they may become more mature or independent faster because they cannot always be taken care of to the full extent. In my opinion growing up in a 2 parent household is much different. My mom and dad have always worked but my mom has always worked part time uptill she has retired. She still does everything for me, I do not think I could live without someone else being there for me and helping me out. My mom brought me up knowing that the mother will always do everything the children need. I think this will help me be a better mom in the future. I think I will work as a mom but only part time while the children are young so I can support them financially with the things they need or want.
• This video explains different types of families and some stats
Works Cited
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. By Arlene S. Skolnick and Jerome H. Skolnick. 16th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson, 2011. 87-95. Web.
Morse, Jane. “Women’s Rights in the United States.” America – Engaging the World – America.gov. 26 Feb. 2007. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“Single Parent Statistics – Average Single Parent Household.” Single Parents – Help, Support, and Encouragement for Single Parents. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
In Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality,” the author discusses the rise of women’s rights, and therefore the reduction of gender inequality in our society. Jackson argues that, as opposed to past decades, people now believe gender inequality as a surmountable issue, whereas it was viewed as impossible to overcome in the past. People saw men’s superiority as natural and unchangeable. Jackson asserts that the trend towards gender equality is a result of industrial capitalism and legal policies. (Jackson, 89) Towards the end of the article, Jackons states that, “Despite the tremendous gains women have experienced, they have not achieved complete equality, nor is it imminent.” (Jackson, 93) For instance, it is still traditional and expected that women will be responsible for raising their children. However, this does not undermine the fact that great strides have been made toward equality, although there is still room for improvement. As Jackson stresses, people can look at women’s rights from two perspectives – how far we have come as a society in terms of how much closer to gender equality we are, or how far we have to go in reaching full equality.
As Jackson wrote, divorce is much more accessible to women now in the twenty-first century than it was decades ago. If you follow this link: http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/351, you’ll find statistics from Dr. Phil’s website about divorce. While not a scholarly source, the list of statistics illustrates the accessibility and high numbers of divorce in our society. While this may not be a positive fact for the state of American marriages, it is positive in that women have a say in their marriage decisions and are not at the mercy of their husbands.
On PBS’s website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/timeline/timeline2.html), there is a comprehensive timeline from their documentary titled The Pill. This documentary, and the supplementing information on the website, details the history of birth control (namely, the Pill), which revolutionized women’s sexual freedom. The first birth control was developed in 1951. By 1962, more than one million American women were on the Pill. By 1984, 50 to 80 million women across the globe were reported to be taking the Pill. As this dramatic rise in numbers shows, birth control revolutionized this are of women’s lives in the second half of the twentieth century.
While women have gained many rights in the workplace, and are working more in general, they still do not make as much money as men. This is illustrated in the 2009 Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-3.pdf. This PDF document includes many statistics showing women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings.
Two other ways that women’s rights have improved in the past few decades involve the rise in opportunities at higher levels in politics in business. While there is still a “glass ceiling,” women still have many more opportunities today than in, say, the 1950s. It is also not as taboo for women to hold careers while simultaneously taking care of their family.
Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory,” focuses on the threats to traditional family life and the changing family dynamics that have taken hold in the last few decades of the twentieth century. Our generation wants to have a long-lasting relationship, while being able to balance it with work and family life. Based on Gerson’s interviews, children did not provide commentary so much on the actual structure of their families, as they did on how well their parents managed to deal with whatever that family structure was (economically, emotionally). According to Gerson’s research, the key to successfully managing families is having flexibility. This flexibility includes being flexible with gender roles. In other words, sometimes it was necessary for mother to go back to work in order to take pressure off of an overburdened father. While members of our generation are skeptical about demands and being able to balance work and family life, Gerson says that, “…more than nine out of ten hope to rear children in the context of a satisfying lifelong bond.” (Gerson, 108) Relating back to women’s rights, Gerson found that men are more likely to fall back on a traditional view of marriage, with a 1950s-esque housewife to take care of the family while they have ambitious careers. Our generation understands these social realities and the need for flexibility, yet we are skeptical about the ability to successfully balance it all.
Citations:
“Advice – Marriage and Divorce: The Statistics.” Dr. Phil.com. Dr. Phil Show. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“Men’s and Women’s Earnings for States and Metropolitan Statistical Areas 2009.” 2010 Census. U.S. Census. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Skolnick, Arlene, and Jerome Skolnick. Family in Transition. 16th ed. Boston: 2011. pp 87-95 and pp 102-116. Print.
The article “Destined for Equality” is about the declining of gender inequality. Over the past 150 years women are well on their well to have the same role has men. It has always been seen that men have a power and superiority over women. This dominance seemed natural to society and was a part of life. However, over the past two centuries gender inequality has decreased. Women have always been fighting for their status even against men’s resistance to do so. Women’s striving for equality has been effective over the passing years. Powerful men such as employers, educators, and politicians have reduced the discrimination against women by passing laws and hiring women. These actions have improved women’s social standing. There are many ways in which women’s rights have improved in the last few decades is through education. This website describes the decreasing rate of illiterate women compared to men over the years in different countries. http://www.prb.org/Publications/PolicyBriefs/EmpoweringWomenDevelopingSocietyFemaleEducationintheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.aspx
This YouTube video illustrates different aspects and activities that empower women. Examples are women owning her own business, raising her two children on her own, getting herself a better education, and how empowering women can change the world.
One way in which women’s rights have improved in the last few decades is by education of all levels has become equally available for women. Women have gained control over their reproductive process. Also it has become easier and more socially acceptable to end marriage in divorce. Finally political and economic systems have accepted and been promoted to positions of higher status.
The article of Gerson is about growing up in changing families. The majority of young adults remember growing up in a stable home, which over the years grew more supportive. Some remember growing up in an unstable home or in a home, which over time support eroded. This article discusses the different family households then society is used to. Gerson conducted a series of detailed interview between young adults the age ranging from 18 to 32. In these interview one will find a mother’s incentive to go to work helped encourage her husband to tackle his drug addiction. On young adult remembers her stepfather being her ideal father figure. These interviews show that many households stray away from the traditional household image. The article also discussed a woman and a man’s “Plan B”. Women’s Plan B is a more independent base than a traditional marriage would provide, such as not relying on their husband for economic stability. The men’s Plan B is men prefer that the mother’s right is to work but the father puts his own career first.
http://www.rainbows.org/statistics.html This article discusses the statistics on how families in today’s society have strayed from the traditional image. The article says 1 in 2 will live in a single parent family at some point in childhood and 1 in 3 is born to unmarried parents.
Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality” discusses the rise of women rights and how gender difference has evolved slowly to gender equality. Throughout history women have rose to equal status as men in America today. About 150 years ago people of that time would have said that women’s equality is impossible and undesirable. Jackson shows examples of how women were portrayed as the masters of the household back 150 years ago to today women are business women, and involved in economic and political organization which have been paving the way for women’s success. Over time men began to introduce institutional changes that reduced discrimination against women which then allowing them the right to an education. Politicians then passed laws giving married women property rights and educators opened their doors to women in the work field. I think that today it is safe to say that women have grown to take on the tasks of men and have fairly given what we deserve, equal rights. This video I found shows the progression of women’s rights from the years 1911-2011. Its main point allows us to realize that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights were men and women can walk together.
Women throughout history http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTxJMIho5Rg
Gersons article is more about family and how these aspects are changing in our history. Years ago we would typically see the father working a long shift job bringing home the income where the mother was always the household keeper cleaning and preparing dinner. In todays present we rarely see this anymore mainly due to today’s society and trouble keeping a stable marriage. In today’s society women are more work orientated and in charge of bringing home the household income. Gerson’s main focus is the struggles between parenting or either parents struggling with being a homemaker, or even the struggles of their job. In this case balancing a relationship on top of work and child care can become a difficult and unbarring task. Some families find a way to successfully take on all three tasks while other families are more overwhelmed with balancing family and work causing negative situations. A main point to this article is this rising of single parents in our day and age. This could mean that adults are becoming too involved in work and cannot find to settle down and keep up with a loving relationship. This is affecting my generation by having many more children growing up in single family homes were money may be tight and they may not be receiving the right amount of attention to create a loving family relationship. This main problem takes away a child’s relationship with the parents and can lead to more serious problems along to the child. Gersons studies found that most people of this generation are happy with their families even though the balancing of work and family, they can still be a happy family.
http://www.divorceguide.com/usa/divorce-information/divorce-statistics-in-the-usa.html
This website shows us the divorce rate in America, top reasons for divorce, and the age and race factor.
In Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality” the author discusses inequality between males and females. In the past people believed that finding gender equality was not possible but now “150 years later, seemingly against all odds, women are well on the way to becoming men’s equals” (Jackson, 87). There have always been gender issues and many people believe that “the driving force behind this transformation has been the migration of economic and political power outside households” (Jackson, 87). In time there were changes being made one being that men tried to help out the women by assisting in household chores, even though most of the men did not think they were acting any differently. Today women have more rights which include independent citizenship, women can vote, and more women are getting managerial and professional positions (Jackson, 90). In the end women’s rights have improved a great deal and are still improving everyday.
In Kathleen Gerson’s article “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory,” she discusses how family changes can put a traditional family in danger. Sometimes change can be for the better, for example if a couple is fighting nonstop and it is affecting their children in the wrong way divorce may be a good solution for the family as a whole. On the other hand change can also be bad, for example if a family went from having two working parents to one the family will suffer because the family will not be financially supported. This could affect our generation because not having as many traditional families could potentially impact children and their behavior at school and just in general. Gerson says that “the best family values can only be achieved by creating the social supports for gender flexibility in our communities, homes, and workplaces” (Gerson, 113). This quote talks about how families need to be flexible at certain times even if it is not something they want to do they need to be able to help out their spouses for the sake of their families.
Over the years women have had many changes to help them become equal to men. The first one is that in 1973, women started to receive minimum wage and they have freedom in reproductive choice. In 1978 they were not discriminated against for employment while being pregnant. In 1993 and 1994 there was employment protection for workers needing extended time off to care for family members and they were protections against violence (Women’s Rights in the United States). In the past years there have been many ways that women have received equality.
Writer, Jane MorseStaff. “Women’s Rights in the United States.” America – Engaging the World – America.gov. 26 Feb. 2007. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Women have come a long way in the fight for equality, but will we ever be true equals – will biology stand in our way? Robert M. Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality” discusses the decline of inequality against women over the past two centuries, while also stating that total equality for women has not been reached. Jackson divides women’s place in society into three-half century periods. They included the “era of separate spheres”, the “era of egalitarian illusions” and the “era of assimilation.” (Jackson, 90) Within the span of these three periods, which is roughly 150 years, drastic changes in women’s roles began to appear.
The era of separate spheres, dated 1840-1890, “declared emphatically that women and men belonged to different worlds”. (Jackson, 91) Women were bound to the home and family while men were employed and provided income. Women were known to have the “traditional role” during this period, although they were allowed some opportunities, such as having control over their land and income. In the era of egalitarian illusions, dated 1890-1940, improved opportunities increased for women. The Woman Suffrage Amendment was established and is referred to as “the high points of changes during this period.” (Jackson, 92) Although women were still not able to hold high positions like their male counterparts, they were allowed to enter the labor market where married women were being hired. The era of assimilation, 1940-present, states that “the prevailing theme of this recent period has been women’s assimilation into all activities and positions once denied them.” (Jackson, 93) Although women have not gained full equality, they have gained access in areas they weren’t able to achieve before. Comparing what women’s status was like in the past to what they are capable of doing today is remarkable. Jackson goes on to say that “gender inequality today stands somewhere between extreme inequality and complete equality.” (p. 94)
Women’s rights have improved tremendously in the last few decades. Without Title IX in the Education Codes and the equal access to higher education , who would have thought that it would be possible to see a women hold the position of U. S. Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice or be a 4 Star General in the U.S. Army? Title IX also resulted in an astonishing rise in the number of medals won by women athletes in recent Olympic Games. (http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=93) “One in twenty-seven high school girls played sports 25 years ago; one in three do today.” (http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html) Today, contraceptives and “the right to choose” give us the right to decide when or even if we want to have children. Women also have control over their bodies – “No Means No”. (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/biden-renews-call-to-end-violence-against-women-no-means-no/) Women are making some of the biggest strides financially. “25 years ago married women were not issued credit cards in their own name……. most women could not get a bank loan without a male co-signer……and women working full time earned fifty-nine cents to every dollar earned by men”. (http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html) Biology seems to be losing the battle.
Is my generation searching for the perfect balance of home and work? Do we feel pressured to do it or have it all? Kathleen Gerson’s article “Falling Back on Plan B” discusses how we, the “children of the gender revolution”, have to deal with a much different future than that of our parents and grandparents. The gender revolution kicked into high gear the reality that women wanted and needed to be self-reliant, to be able to support themselves and their children should the need arise. From her interviews with young adults, Gerson found that the overwhelming consensus was that most “hope to blend the traditional value of lifelong commitment with the modern value of flexible sharing.” (Gerson, 103) They are prepared for “‘second best’ options in a world where time-demanding workplaces, a lack of child care, and fragile relationships may place their ideals out of reach.” (Gerson, 103)
Flexible strategies in the home and work allowed parents to “transcend rigid gender boundaries” (Gerson, 104) and bend with the fluid environment they lived in. Balancing home and work life can stressful on many families. Inflexible strategies, not bending with the changing situations, left many families unable to sustain an emotionally and financially sound environment for their family. Because of the unexpected events life can throw at you, many women and men have come up with “Plan B” alternatives. For women, they realize that “work provides indispensable economic, social, and emotional resources.” (Gerson, 110) They aren’t quick to jump to the traditional role of being a housewife, they want to be more independent and self-reliant. Plan B for men consists of them “preferring a modified traditionalism that recognizes a mother’s right (and need) to work, but puts his own career first.” (Gerson, 111) Known as neo-traditionalism, men want women to work but they want to remain as the top earner as well.
Families these days are changing drastically. 50% of all marriages end in divorce and for my generation, I believe this number will rise in a few decades. More and more people are opting to not get married and/or becoming single parents instead. Even though women outnumber men in the work force, they are still underrepresented in leadership roles. They are only “3% of leaders of Fortune 500 companies and 17% of the U.S. Senate in 2009” (http://workplaceflexibility2010.org/index.php/why_it_matters/gender_equity/) and they still are the primary caregivers in the home. “The truth is that when women gamble on dependency, most eventually end up on the wrong side of the odds”. (http://www.everywomansvoice.com/?q=node/20) Women still want equality in the workplace and are also looking for that at home. ‘Supermom’ needs help. Continued gender flexibility will play a major role in creating a thriving family scenario. I believe that you will be seeing this lot with my generation.
Works Cited:
“Fast Facts.” National Center for Education Statistics. 20 Sept. 2011.
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=93
“Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights Movement 1848 – 1998.” History of the Movement.
1997-2002. 20 Sept. 2011.
http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html
Dwyer, Devin. “Biden Renews Call to End Violence Against Women: ‘No Means No’.” ABC News. 13 Sept. 2011. 20 Sept. 2011.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/biden-renews-call-to-end-violence-against-women-no-means-no/
“Workplace Flexibility and Gender Equity.” Workplace Flexibility 2010. 2010. 20 Sept. 2011.
http://workplaceflexibility2010.org/index.php/why_it_matters/gender_equity/
“The Feminine Mistake.” Every Woman’s Voice. 2007-2010. 20 Sept. 2011.
http://www.everywomansvoice.com/?q=node/20
In “Destined for Equality,” Robert M. Jackson analyzes the way how men’s social dominance was doomed from the beginning. He attributes this statement to the fact that gender inequality couldn’t successfully adapt to modern economic and political institutions. About 150 years ago, men practically owned women, and women really had no serious input in society or in the family. Fast forward to today, and one could assuredly claim that women as a whole have made much progress towards being respected in American society. Jackson isolates the driving force behind this transformation to the migration of economic and political power outside households and its reorganization around business and political interests attached from gender (Jackson, 87). He also claims that men with economic or political power intermittently adopted policies that favored greater equality, often without anticipating the implications of their actions. Modern economic and political organizations also began dissociating social power from its allegiance to gender inequality; thus allowing gender equality to take baby steps forward (Jackson, 87). Married women being granted property rights, employers hiring women in increasing numbers, and educators opening their doors to women all aided in the slow progression of women’s rights and power. More job opportunities for women allowed women across the country to exhibit economic independence and identity away from the household for the first time (Jackson, 92). Because of this, the ideology of women being subjected to nothing but family life became weaker and weaker. It is also suggested that one could think differently about women’s status under two different theoretical agendas in order to gauge how far women have really come. Either we can try to evaluate how short from equality women now fall, or we can try to understand how far they have come from past deprivations (Jackson, 94). The first theoretical agenda is more of a pessimistic view while the second agenda tries to be more optimistic when analyzing the progression of women in America.
Over the years, women in America have gained a substantial number of rights. Just recently, gay women (and men) in New York were allowed to legally get married. The 1970’s was a powerful decade in which significant legislation was passed that resulted in women’s rights to safe and legal abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973, The Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974 that prohibited discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance, and The Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978 that banned employment discrimination against pregnant women (Imboroni). In United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that the all-male Virginia Military School had to admit women in order to continue to receive public funding. The Violence Against Women Act in 1994 helped bolster federal penalties for sex offenders, and helped fund services for victims of rape and domestic violence who were usually women (Imbornoni). While there is no question that women have made great strides forward towards attaining gender equality, there are still many discrepancies in American society that prove there is still work to be done in order to ensure equality throughout the nation. One of the major areas many women still look to gain more equality in is in political power. There has yet to be a single women president or vice-president in American history and men outnumber women in just about every political category there is. This link provides a timeline of women’s rights in American history: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html
In “Falling Back on Plan B,” Kathleen Gerson examines how more families are changing in American society. Gerson claims that members of this new generation walk a fine line between their desire to achieve egalitarian, sharing relationships that can co-operate with satisfying work and succumbing to the realities of gender conflict, fragile relationships, and uncertain job prospects (Gerson, 102-103). She states that women today are more concerned about being the “breadwinner” because there is a great deal of uncertainty when trying to find a stable partner that can blend the traditional value of lifelong commitment with modern values and flexible sharing of caretaking roles. Most people also believe that having dual earning parents provides increased economic resources and provides more satisfying marriages. The ability to succeed in the face of economic and personal crises is often given credit to flexible strategies which allow mothers, fathers, and caretakers to transcend gender boundaries. Gerson also found that if women cannot find a supportive partner, that they would prefer self-reliance over economic dependence within traditional marriage, and that men prefer a neo-traditional arrangement that allows him to put work first and rely on a partner for the duty of caregiving. She also mentions declined commitment amongst adults and offers the suggestion that adults nowadays are more occupied with their jobs and experience a lesser need for commitment to another partner (Gerson, 106-107). Many men and women today see divorce as an easy way out of a bad situation and often end up using it more than once after their first divorce. The divorce rate of every first marriage is said to be around 45-50%, while the rate for the 2nd and 3rd marriages are 63% and 73% (Divorce). I believe that my generation is experiencing one of the greatest booms in divorce. I have numerous friends who grew up in divorced households and have seen and heard the struggles it can have on a child. This website provides more information regarding divorce rates in America: http://www.divorcerate.org/
Both men and women are said to have ideas of finding a partner, but Gerson states they also have a Plan B in case it doesn’t work out the way they want/imagined it. Women’s Plan B is to seek alternatives to traditional marriage by establishing a firm tie to paid work, by redesigning motherhood to better fit their work aspirations, and by looking to kin and friends as a support network to enlarge, and if needed, substitute for an intimate relationship. It is said that women from all backgrounds believe work provides indispensable economic, social, and emotional resources (Gerson, 110). Men’s Plan B is more inclined to fall back on a modified traditionalism that contrasts vividly with women’s search for self-reliance. Although most men recognize a mother’s right to work, they usually put their own career first and wish to retain the gender boundary between breadwinning and caretaking (Gerson, 111).
Works Cited
“Divorce Rate.” Divorce Rate : Divorce Rate In America. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16. Print.
Imboroni, Ann-Marie. “Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S.: Timeline of Events (1980-Present) — Infoplease.com.” Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 87-95. Print
“Destined for Equality” written by Robert M. Jackson is an article written about the gender roles in society, and how they have changed throughout time. Men and women are changing their actions and “powerful institutions have gradually but irresistibly reduced gender inequality” (Jackson 88). They say that male politicians who wanted to become more powerful, business men who wanted to be wealthy, and ordinary men pursuing their self interest all helped to decline the gender in equality. In the late 1830’s women still didn’t have as many rights. They were not aloud to go to college, they could not vote, they could not escape marriage through a divorce. Women had to depend men. Today, women are independent. They can vote, live without a husband, and go to college, if they want to leave their husband they can file a divorce. Women have a higher social status and more choices in their lives. Women’s equal rights continue to improve throughout the last couple decades. In 1994, there were protections against violence, provision of federal funds for child care (1990), child support laws, and the protection of pension rights for widows and divorced women (1984), and discriminating pregnant women in the workforce (1978).
“Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory” written by Kathleen Gerson discusses families and how they are changing. The traditional family was the men went to work and brought home the bacon. While women stayed at home cooked, cleaned, take care of the kids and had dinner on the table when the husband came home. Today, women go to work and also make income, and still manage to cook, clean, and provide for the husband and kids. This article also talks about Plan B’s for men and women. Some women decided to work incase their relationship with their spouse deteriorates. If they depend on their husband for income, and they can’t work out their relationship the women no longer has the man to depend on. She only has herself, and if she were working she would not have to worry about having absolutely no money. Men also face a dilemma, the women’s desire for a partnership and their desire to succeed themselves. The respect the women’s right to work but they put their own career first. One man said that it was a womens “choice” to work, and a man’s “responsibility” to support his family (Gerson 111). Family and family structure continues to change today. The number of families headed by a single parent mother has increase by 25% since 1990 and 1/3 of all babies were born to unmarried women. The number of single fathers has increased, they head more than 2 million households. (http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/0601/blfam601.htm). The divorce rate continues to increase, it currently sits at 50%. (http://www.divorcestatistics.org/).
Works Cited:
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16. Print.
In the article Destined for Equality by Robert Jackson, gender inequality is discussed and how it has changed throughout the centuries for what can seen both dramatically and slowly depending on how it is accessed. Women’s equality to men has come a long way from what it used to be. Women who were once inferior and socially labeled as inferior to men are now holding the same job positions and higher in our economic and politics today. Although the real reasons that women finally got equality can differ, they were enough to bring us to where we are now. In the article it discusses how men would use the idea of equality to help boost their own business and career success, “seeking to further their own interests, powerful men launched institutional changes that eventually reduced the discrimination against women” (Jackson, 89). Later, the article discusses how we have far we have actually come and speaks about the 1830’s and society recognizing women as “adjuncts to men” rather than individuals. Women were nowhere able to even work, let alone vote or join in politics. Now, women hold political offices and have economic success and power all over the country (Jackson, 90). In the end however, people are still controversial on their idea of complete equality with men and women and depending on how you address the past and present history of this issue, people will have different opinions on whether there really has been a remarkable improvement or not enough (Jackson, 94).
In the article by Kathleen Gerson, the idea of the traditional to modernized family is evaluated and how children who grew up in our current century, have a very different view on family values than our parents or grandparents. Gerson interviewed a select group between 18 and 32 to better understand their childhoods and how they feel their parents or family provided economic and emotional support (Gerson, 103). Every child has a different, unique history of how he or she was raised and with or without both parents. Many children lived a life that wasn’t necessary with a “traditional family” but still was blessed with happy and loving home. Some children lived with one parent, a grandmother or both parents. A lot of these children stress the importance of work and how it helped being families together and bring happiness to the parent him/herself since that person could provide and be a loving parent at the same time. There were however, children who did have family problems that resulted in a mom or father leaving or falling out of work and then being left in poverty with little or no money. That is why children of our present day time have different ideas on how they want to raise a family and the option of a “back up plan” if there first choice does not work out. Women and men both agree that they want to have a loving marriage and both parents can work and contribute to the marriage, however they feel that the reality of this will just not happen in the future. That is why men and women have come up with a back up plan. A women’s back up plan is that she will be completely independent and have her own career so that if her marriage does not work out or she doesn’t get married, she will still be successful on her own and find happiness. Many women knew of other women who had been either left in a marriage or problems occur and the wife was left with nothing since she had never worked. That is what she wants to avoid in the future. (Gerson, 109-110). A man’s back up plan is quite similar to the old days. Most men agree that they would be fine with his wife working and having her own life and career, however they do stress that they want to be the breadwinner and should make more money than his wife. He recognizes the woman’s want to work but he puts his career first. (Gerson, 111). These new social realities are forcing young adults to try and find the best way to be happy with a husband or wife but also be self-reliant and provide for him/herself if need be.
Discussion Question:
Everyone’s family has a different dynamic and structure. They way someone is brought up and by who they are brought up can be very different than someone else. Do you think that your person childhood will affect how you would marry or parent a child? Will you do the same as your parents or has your perspective of what a marriage should be like changed as a result of your own?
Women’s lives improved:
These articles discuss how women have changed from the past until now and their influence on society. Although there are economic and politically transformation for women, religion has also played an important part in a women’s life. Depending on where in the world a woman is living, her rights can be different and she may act in a certain way. There are multiple influences that play a role in how a woman is characterized and what she can and cannot do in her society. Although their has been a great increase in equality, there are still women in the world who have not been able to get a sense of what that is and that is the issue that is being addressed in our government today. However, through this process, women have told their stories and expressed their own thoughts through writing and books that inspire the women around them to fight for what they deserve and realize we are in a time that women have more opportunity than ever and we must flourish in it.
Click to access Women-and-the-Economy-CSW-cv-final.pdf
http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights
http://womensrights.change.org/
^ A petition website where women fight for social justice.
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16. Print.
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 87-95. Print
The article “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson examines the progressive path women have taken towards equality. 150 years ago, no one would have imagined the extensive growth that was possible for women to make on the way to equality. In 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, men declared equality amongst themselves, but women were not even up for debate, they were considered completely different from men (Jackson 90). The article states, however, that in 1890, women began to obtain more rights and were on their way towards equality. Women were allowed to enter the labor market and employers extended hiring to married women, although these were never high-status jobs (Jackson 92).
Today, we can look at women’s progress towards equality in two different ways. We can examine how far women are from being considered equal to men, or on the other hand, we can scrutinize how far they have come from past discriminations (Jackson 94). If we decide to look at it from the standpoint of currently how unequal women are from men, it may seem that women’s equality is inadequate compared to men. But on the other hand, looking at it from the position of how far women’s equality has come, women have made far leaps in their quest for equality (Jackson 94).
There are many ways in which women’s rights have improved over the last few decades. One way is that women have made a lot of progress entering occupations that were typically held by men. However, there are still a majority of women in the workforce who hold traditional female occupations, for example, 79% of administrative support workers are female. But, overall, women make up about 47% of the labor force (http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=djISI6PIKpG&b=295714). Women also have gained the right to use contraceptives, right to abortion, the right to vote, the right to a higher education, and a greater political voice. Some interesting information about the percentage of women in certain occupations over the past several decades can also be found at this website, http://jec.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=8be22cb0-8ed0-4a1a-841b-aa91dc55fa81.
This video summarizes very well some of the progression women’s rights have made in the United States in the past few decades.
Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B,” explains the decisions that men and women must make now living in a society that would be considered untraditional by their grandparents and parents. The author describes the diversification of family life and whether or not it aids in the development of more flexible relationships (Gerson 103). Most men and women decided that they hope to blend the traditional values of a typical family with the more modern values of flexibility, more specifically, they wish to have a lifelong commitment with a spouse, but also have the ability to experience home and work.
These young people, although, recognize that their approach to family may not be obtainable and have settled on a “plan b”. Most women agree on the ideal that they want a lifelong, flexible partnership with a significant amount of self-sufficiency and independence (Gerson 108). Women realize this may be unrealistic and have developed a plan b which centers on financial and emotional autonomy at the expense of a committed relationship. They wish to avoid being in a position where they are unable to support themselves, and are “pursuing a strategy of autonomy rather than placing their own fate or their children’s in the hands of a traditional relationship” (Gerson 110-111).
Men, on the other hand, prefer a more traditional plan b. They identify a mother’s right to work, but believe that he should be the breadwinner of the family and his career comes first. They wish to keep hold of the traditional boundary of the man being the primary source of income and the caretaking mother, regardless of if she has a job (Gerson 111). Men feel that they should be the primary earner in the family.
According to a 2003 survey, about one third of wives earned more than their husbands. Also found in the study was that women overall bring in about 43% of the household income (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/LoveAndMoney/SecretLivesOfBreadwinnerWives.aspx). In 2010, 47.8 percent of married-couple families had both spouses employed, some more statistics about employed married couples can be found at (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm).
Work Cited
Dunleavey, M.P. “Secret Lives of Breadwinner Wives”. 20 Sept. 2011. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/LoveAndMoney/SecretLivesOfBreadwinnerWives.aspx
“Employment Characteristics of Families Summary” Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16.
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 87-95.
“Women’s Rights Statistics”. Eliminating Racism and Empowering Women. 20 Sept. 2011. http://www.ywca.org/site/pp.asp?c=djISI6PIKpG&b=295714
In “Destined for Equality,” author Robert M. Jackson explains his belief that gender equality was inevitable because of the social conditions that permitted it. The majority of men gave in to the women’s demands for rights out of their own self-interest. Politicians accepted women as “equals” to gain political power, and businessmen did so for money and success (Jackson 88). Even though the men in charge had selfish intentions, women benefited significantly (for example by receiving the right to vote and the ability to work). Jackson explains that “industrial capitalism and rational legal government” would have ended gender inequality regardless of what men or women wanted or how they acted…the financial and legal worlds both needed women to be equal citizens.
Jackson also highlights numerous ways that women’s rights have improved over the years:
– Political status: In the 1830’s, women were not allowed to vote or run for political office. Today, women do have the right to vote and to be involved in their government. In this article in the Washington Post, author Ruth Marcus points out that there are 88 women in Congress, 17 of which are senators (the highest yet).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/are-women-in-politics-making-two-steps-forward-one-step-back/2011/04/05/AFmQ7PlC_story.html
-Economic opportunity: Women rarely worked and were fully dependent on their husbands financially until around the 1940’s. Today women have jobs just as often as men do. I found a site that is dedicated entirely to helping women find work:
http://www.womensjoblist.com/
-Higher education: Women now have full access to any level of education. A woman is even more likely today to go to college than a man: 57% of the college population today is female. This imbalance can potentially lead to college admissions programs discriminating against female applicants in an attempt to improve the gender ratio. For more information on the college gender gap and its effects, read this article from USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-01-26-genderequity26_ST_N.htm
-Divorce: Since women as a whole are significantly more independent from men today then in previous decades, they do not usually feel forced to stay in an unhappy marriage. About half of all marriages in the United States today end in divorce.
-Cultural image: Women were typically depicted only as housewives and mothers in shows such as “Leave it to Beaver” and “The Brady Bunch.” Today, it is more common to see women on T.V. who work. USA network created a new series this year called “Necessary Roughness,” about a divorced, single-mom who works as a therapist for athletes. Here’s a trailer for the show:
Kathleen Gerson writes in her article “Falling Back on Plan B” about how the diversity in family structure has effected my generation. After interviewing a number of young adults, Gerson came to the conclusion that children today are more concerned about how their family functioned (was able to provide stability and support etc) than what their families looked like. She argues that “flexible strategies,” which allow men and women to transgress their gender boundaries, helped families prevail through tough situations (Gersen 104).
Although Gersen found that both boys and girls today hope to have an equal life partner, they are also skeptical they will in reality have one. This uncertainty creates a new gender divide. Females are determined to be emotionally and financially self-reliant so they will never feel they have to get married. They plan on having a legitimate job and using friends as a support system to maintain their independence (Gersen 110). On the other hand, Gersen discovered that men were willing to return to a “modified” traditionalism” in which the male’s career was more of a priority than the females (Gersen 111).
I think that the diversity in family structure has most drastically affected the girls of our generation. The high rates of divorce and single-mother households today really emphasize the importance of female independence. In previous decades, women were most concerned with finding a husband and starting a family. Now, most women have goals of attending college and starting a successful career before becoming a wife or mother. Hopefully this idea of self-reliance that Gersen talks about continues to empower the girls of the next generation too.
Works Cited:
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16. Print.
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 87-95. Print
Destined for Equality is an article written by Robert M. Jackson, and it mainly focuses on how and why gender inequality has decreased throughout the years of history. Jackson stresses the fact that over 150 years ago, it was rare that anyone would claim to see equality between males and females at all possible; yet now, in today’s world, “seemingly against all odds, women are well on the way to becoming men’s equal. Now few say that gender equality is impossible or undesirable” (Jackson, 87). He claims that there is, in fact, a very good reason for this alteration. “The driving force behind this transformation has been the migration of economic and political power outside the households and its reorganization around business and political interests detached from gender” (Jackson, 87). Although male-controlled institutions were not necessarily concerned with equality for men and women, they started to move in the direction towards this egalitarianism because their interests were changing. They no longer tried to resist the ambitions of women, “and they found new advantages in strategies that also benefitted women” (Jackson, 88). Not knowing that it had the capability of undermining gender inequality, dominant men who held a great deal of power began to adopt a handful of policies because they seemed to be within their best interests. These policies helped to correct the many political, economic, and organizational problems of the time, but the men did not realize that they also had a greater purpose. Another important message that Jackson tries to convey to readers is that although we have beat a great deal of odds and come a very long way when it comes to gender inequality, we still fall short from total equality of the sexes.
Women’s rights have without a doubt improved over the course of the last few decades. One example of this would be the fact that females are now considered to be independent citizens of this country. “They have the same liberty as men to control their person and property” (Jackson, 90). Two more examples of rights that women have just as men do would include the right to vote, and also the right to hold political positions. Although it is quite apparent that more men are still granted jobs in more prestigious fields, women “hold jobs almost as often as men do” and “ever more women have managerial and professional positions” (Jackson, 90). A fifth example of a right granted to women over the last few decades would be that we now have high sexual freedom and total control and say when it comes to reproducing.
To go along with the Jackson article, I found a website that gives additional information on women’s rights and how they have altered throughout the years of history http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/womensrights.htm
I also found a short video on youtube that helps viewers to better understand that throughout the years, women have been gaining more rights and equality all around the world, and it is not something that has only occurred in the United States http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ATz4dVAjuI
Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory is an article written by Kathleen Gerson. In this particular piece, Gerson emphasizes the fact that this generation of young adults is faced with many changes and challenges “to crafting a marriage, rearing children, and building a career” (Gerson, 102). Many of the members from this generation are going to draw on their past experiences and the ways in which they were brought up to help shape their own futures and the futures of their children. A great deal of the men and women interviewed by Gerson claim that they are going to put more focus on “how well their parents met the challenges of providing economic and emotional support than on what form their families took” (Gerson, 103). In other words, for the majority, it does not matter whether they were raised by a homemaking mother and a breadwinning father, if they matured in a single-parent home, or if they had two parents who were dual-earners; this generation of young adults is more concerned about how well or unwell their parents met their needs. Many of these adults “share an ideal that stresses the value of a lasting, flexible, and egalitarian partnership with considerable room for person autonomy” however, “they are also skeptical about their chances of achieving this ideal” (Gerson, 108-109). Young people in my age group are definitely hoping for the best, yet preparing for the worst and coming up with new plans and “second best” options (Gerson, 103). When it comes to women, “some are falling back on domesticity,” but it has become apparent that “most prefer to find a more independent base than traditional marriage provides” (Gerson, 109). Men, on the other hand, “do not want or expect to return to a 1950s model of fathers as the only breadwinner,” and “most men prefer a modified traditionalism that recognizes a mother’s right (and need) to work, but puts his own career first” (Gerson, 111).
In today’s world, families are continuously changing. I would say that one of the most recent and major changes that has been experienced by a great deal of families would be the increase in the divorce rate. More and more couples have decided to call it quits on their marriage, for a variety of different reasons, and I feel as though this has negatively impacted my generation. For the most part, it has made growing up an even more stressful and confusing period for people my age. I would not know from personal experience due to the fact that my parents are still together, but I know it has been a difficult time for some of my friends. A few of them have even claimed that because of their parents’ divorce, they are now experiencing trust issues with people in their lives, and they find it more difficult to open up to those that are close to them out of fear that these close relationships will not last. Another way in which families are changing is the uprising of same sex parents. In today’s society, it is more common than ever for people to be coming out as gay or lesbian. These homosexuals are now comfortable enough to raise families together, and I actually believe this has a positive impact on my generation. Witnessing a family with two same sex parents can teach people of my generation to not be afraid of who they are and to be comfortable in their own skin. In the past, people had to hide their true wants and desires, but now they seem to be opening up which I believe is helpful in many different aspects of life. It also has the ability to teach people to accept others for who they are and not be so discriminatory.
Discussion question for the Gerson article: Do you think that divorced parents (and their actions) can have a positive impact on the future of their child or children?
In the article, “Destined for Equality,” Robert Jackson demonstrates the progressive movement of equality for women in America. Although men and women still are viewed unequal in the United States, Jackson shows that gender inequality is irreversibly declining by showing that women’s status in America has increased steadily and consistently over the past two centuries. In Jackson’s argument, he disputes that the dominance of males is an unchangeable force of society despite the facts that they have been viewed as the superior gender, and the subordination of women to men gave men the sense of authority. However, the growth of women’s roles and power has increased tremendously over the years resulting in “popular culture has come close to portraying women as men’s legitimate equal”(Jackson 93). The transformation of womens’ success in striving for equality has been due to movements of economical and political power outside the family units and its recollection around production and political interests separate from gender relations. Although there have been conflicts between women and male supremacy associations, women have been seeking to further their interests in success by establishing “independent citizenship,” which would give them the equal freedom as to control their person and property. Consequently, these changes have given women greater opportunities, resources, and a high social status than in previous past. In recent history, “The political and economic systems have accepted ever more women and have promoted them to positions with more influence and higher status. Education at all levels has become equally available to women. Women have gained great control over their reproductive processes, and their sexual freedom has come to resemble men”(Jackson 93). Five ways in which womens’ rights have improved are educationally, politically, economically, sexually, and freedom to make choices about their own lives. Although, women’s status in society has improved over the years, we need to understand that gender quality was once and still is a major issue in society. Women have made a vast improvement in seizing their power and establishing their role, but they are still viewed as subordinate to men. Inequality still remains in our society whether its gender, race, or sexual preference, and we need to recognize that everyone is his or her own person, but we were born equal.
In the second article, “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory,” Kathleen Gerson discusses the differing generations of family, comparing them to the current. Extensive changes in work, family arrangements, and child rearing have created new challenges and choices that will shape our family life for a long time. Understanding different young childrens’, teens’, and adults’ views of growing up in changing families shows the various paths their families took. These include similar and dissimilar family types such as traditional with a “homemaking mother” and “breadwinning father,” that children disapprove of because they want their mother to make use of her time mainly in the workforce. Another family type such as single-parent homes reveal children’s thoughts about parent separation. Although they do not see separation as for the common good of the family, children will realize later on in their development, it was in their benefit. Another family type consists of both parents laboring to meet their goals for the household and not so much solely focused on the child. Children are not in favor of both parents working due to stress put on the children and apparent lack of commitment by the parents toward the child. All family types reflect demeaning mothers fulfillment, financial instability, and lack of guidance and support that can all influence the child’s development in the family. This book stresses “Plan B” as backup plan in the choices of men, women, and the families they will create. For women, they feel they need to build an independent identity, not always relying on the male for the income and security they generally provide. Women prefer to work in case their marriage fails, thus being able to provide for themselves and their future child. In men’s case, they face a different approach battling between being in a committed long term relationship with a woman and striving to succeed in the workforce. Men must feel as though he is the main provider for the family, whether the wife is employed or unemployed
This link shows the statistics surrounding the economic roles men and women play in the household. It focuses on one family where both the father and mother have the same ambition to work and provide for each other. Men show stress over a concern between wanting to advance his career, but wants a sense of balance between work and family. However, although women want to feel fulfilled in the professional settings, as shown in the video clip, they are not willing to back down from duties as a mother or a provider.
Growing up in changing family situations creates an uncertainty in childrens’ future family lives and they will have to make a balance of choices for the best decisions.
The article “Destined for Equality” the author Robert M. Jackson talks about the equality between women and men and how it has evolved over time. For almost all of the 20th Century and before that women were considered to be inferior to men. Women were subordinate in every economic, political, and cultural way. It was common knowledge that man’s dominance was natural and just a part of life like anything else. But over time, this inequality began to change.
The reason inequality began to diminish was because men started having less to gain by keeping women down. Powerful men began to realize that with equality there would be many more potential voters and profits would increase. It also began as a political strategy. These men who began this did not envision or intend to create gender equality, but it became a reality anyway. Politicians and other authoritative men began to undermine gender inequality to benefit their cause and propel them forward.
It does not matter much how the reform started, the fact that it started is the important thing. We now know that gender equality is the right thing and that a woman can hold the same jobs as any man. Even through all the years of hard work Jackson explains, “They have not achieved complete equality, nor is it imminent. The improvement of women’s status has been uneven, seesawing back between setbacks and advances.” (Jackson, 93) The author explains here that as women move forward, sometimes they lose some things. For example as women begin to become more independent and out in the world on their own, they lose things such as chivalry, which was a part of our culture in the past. A man would always give his seat up for a woman or hold a door for her. Today you do not see that as much because of the advances women are making. Jackson also explains that, “Women in the United States still get poorer jobs and lower income. They have less access to economic or political power.” (Jackson, 93) These are some of the last few adversities that women must overcome to become completely equal in every aspect of life. In all, the progression that has been made in a relatively short time is phenomenal. Women are not quite there yet, but they lie somewhere between “extreme inequality and complete equality” (Jackson, 94) according to the author.
The second article “Falling Back on Plan B” by Kathleen Gerson deals more with the family dynamic, as opposed to the first article, which dealt with women’s rights. In the article the author talks about “opt out” mothers, which she tells the reader could lead to a big return of women into a traditional roles as mothers. This article shows examples supporting this argument:
She also poses the question that during this age where both parents often work long hours is the family itself weaker than it used to be. Many modern families today are attempting to integrate both work, and a long lasting marriage, while raising children.
Gerson goes on to explain that, “Most women work as essential to their own and their children’s survival, whether or not they marry.” (Gerson, 103) This shows that women today have more of a sense of independence than they ever have before. This is great, because divorce is much more common today than it ever was in the past.
Mothers going to work in turn give them more confidence in life. This is great because it allows some women who would normally not speak up, to voice their opinion. Gerson tells a story about a working mother, “His mother’s decision to go to work gave her the courage to insist that his father tackle his drug addiction.” (Gerson, 105)
There is an idea known as having a plan “B” for both men and women. The women’s plan B is to have a job of their own and earn enough money so that if their relationship failed, they could still support themselves. This sounds harsh, but sadly it is not a bad plan because about half of couples today get divorced. The man’s plan B is to also have a career, but also one that the family respects more than his wife’s. This goes back to the idea that it is a man’s responsibility to work and it is a woman’s choice to work. This of course is not true nowadays, but people do still think that way.
As years go on, the family dynamic changes. The “typical” family of the 1950’s is not the same as the “typical” family of 2011. This means that children grow up differently, with ever changing ideas and values. In some situations the changes in the family dynamic are good, but in most they are not. The rate of divorce has risen dramatically and this almost always has a negative effect on a child. This does affect our generation, but not in any way to be alarmed about. After all though it does not matter what year you live in, as long as you are taught decent values and are somewhat educated you can survive in this world.
Over the last few decades’ women’s rights has come a very long way. In 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prevented women from being fired or denied a job because they are pregnant or may become pregnant. Also it is illegal to force an employee to take a pregnancy leave if she is capable of doing her job. In 1986 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson found that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination. In 1992 the right for a woman to have an abortion was reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In 1996 the all-male Virginia Military School was forced to admit women in order to keep receiving public funding. This ruling was found in United States v. Virginia. Finally in 2009 the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act was passed. This is an act that allowed people who are experiencing pay discrimination (mostly women) to file a complaint with the government within 180 days of the unfair paycheck.
More information on women’s rights can be found here: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html
Robert M. Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality,” discusses how women’s rights have changed over the years. Although he states that gender inequality has declined, he doesn’t say that gender equality was achieved by women; he stated “Male politicians seeking more power, businessmen pursuing wealth and success, and ordinary men pursuing their self-interest all contributed to the gradual decline of gender inequality.” Jackson credits men for the decline of gender inequality, but not because men think that women deserve to be treated as equals.
Many laws that were in favor of males have changed since the 19th century. For example, in 1824 men were allowed to beat their wives with a stick “so long as the stick was no longer than their thumb” (http://conev.org/women.html). “Women couldn’t vote during this time period” and “were made into icons of sexual beauty” (http://conev.org/women.html). Although women are now allowed to vote, they still remains “icons” of beauty in society. Women have slowly been gaining equality since the start of the twentieth century. This website will show the “Landmark Years for Women’s Rights” from 1903 to 1928: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_landmark.htm. Another website that tells of the changes for women since the start of the twentieth century is this: http://conev.org/women.html. It tells of how abortion was once illegal for women, but made legal in 1973 and how more women joined the labor force and received higher educations.
Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B,” discussed how the parents’ financial and emotional relationship can affect a child’s views on how a relationship should be. The relationship between parents is the one that children get the best perspective on how relationships work. The article stated that children of separated parents believed separation was good because their parents created better lives apart from each other. Many families in the past used to be like the ones we see on television today: parents and children. However, nowadays, a family like that is less common.
http://www.helium.com/items/514964-how-family-life-has-changed-in-one-generation
The website above has a list on the kinds of families there are in today’s societies, such as single parents or unmarried couples with children. Society also changes how we are raised in society. The website tells of parents who forbid their children to be outside alone because of news reports about child abductions. Kids reported that their main fear is being kidnapped, which, according to the website, is statistically very rare. This changes how families act today, where an unaccompanied child isn’t safe anymore. Society causes parents to constantly worry about their children and it brings stress; first to the parents and then the family.
Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality” takes a closer look at women’s roles in society in the recent future and how their roles have changed. As Jackson says throughout the 19th century it was a male dominated world in every aspect. Men were the workers, breadwinners, authority, and bosses in a way enforcing what seemed like a natural superiority that women just followed. Over time women began to realize that they too should be able to work and make money and have the same rights as men. Women have fought and won many rights that they now have today. Some ways in which women’s rights have improved are that they now have the right to vote, they have cracked the “glass ceiling” in the work place, they have more of a political voice and women have even been elected into offices, they have excelled in higher education which had previously been a male dominated area, and it has become more acceptable for women to get a divorce and make it on her own without a husband. Women have come a long way since the past, but is it enough? Women aren’t completely equal still to this day. I feel like there have been so many important improvements in women’s equality, but still women do not make as much as men, they do not hold as many offices as men, there still has not been a female president, and then added with the fact that women have to face a lot of sexual harassment in the work place there are still a lot of ways in which society needs to change to make women completely equal with men.
“Falling Back on Plan B”, by Kathleen Gerson, examines how the family dynamic for our generation is much different from what our parents and grandparents grew up in. Now that women are seen as more independent and more accepted in the work force as being self reliant there has been an increase in single mothers and broken families. Gerson gives examples of how in some cases the break up of the family was better for them like in cases of parents constant fighting or unhappiness and the family members were actually happier once the parents were apart. However in any divorce there is a financial stress because instead of having two incomes it is down to one and in many cases a working mother struggles to support herself and kids. This site shows more about the divorce rate: http://www.divorcerate.org/. Gerson talks about how in the case that men and women do not find a reliable partner they each have a plan B. For women the plan B is that they make sure they have a stable reliable paid job so that they are financially set. Men’s plan B is to fall back on traditionalism which is exactly the opposite of women’s plan B. The family structure in the United States has definitely changed dramatically since the beginning of the 1900s this video talks about some of the changes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPs8BKlZRZg. I definitely agree that even in recent years things have changed in home like when I was growing up I had to sit down to dinner with my family every night at the same time and I wasn’t allowed to have a computer or cell phone until I was older and I did not even get a TV in my room until I was older. Now I see a bunch of kids going out away from the family structure not spending as much time hanging out with their siblings and parents but instead spending their free time watching the TV or on the computer. There are a lot of reasons the family structure has changed over the years whether it’s because of women’s new role in the workplace or the increase in divorce rate or change in technology there is definitely a new face for the family structure.
Robert Jackson’s “Destined for Equality” is an intriguing conpect on the accomplishments of feminism that is not commonly thought of. He postulates that womens success can be attributed by purely economical means, noting on page 89:
Politicians passed laws giving married women property rights. Employers hired women in ever-increasing numbers. Educators opened their doors to women. These examples and many others show powerful men pursuiing their interests in preserving and expanding their economic and political power…
He identifies the three phases in history that identify the exponential gain of equality in women’s rights. They can be broken down into the past one hundred and fifty years by half centuries. The first era, the era of separate spheres (1840-1890), was a time when women were identified as caretakers of the home. It gave women autonomy in the household and the ability to control their own income. For Single women, there were a few opportunities in the workforce outside of the home. Few women were even being admitted into colleges. Divorce, which was impossible before, was now possible, although it was highly scrutinized and difficult to accomplish. In the second era, the era of egalitarian illusions (1890-1940), women were not permitted in the higher ranks of white collar occupations, however, they were hired into the white collar work force. Married women were being accepted into these white collar positions as well. More women were admitted into colleges on an equal level and men, but not in advanced or prefessional degrees. The third era, the era of assimilation (1940-current), government policies have been enacted to deter sexual harrasment in the work place and women have been able to climb to prestigous positions that were primarily held my men. They have grown near to equal status as men, yet not fully equal.
Jackson’s ideas for measuring the progress of women is interesting as he lists two methods. The first is to compare the disadvantages women have today and compare them with a completely egalitarian society. The other is to look at the disadvantages they have today and compare them to the disadvantages that women had in a given point in history. Both fascinating concepts with different outcomes. If we measure the former, than the progress seems overwhelming as there is still much more needed to accomplish. Conversely, If one was to look at the accomplishments from the past, one would feel more positive in what has been overcome.
Kathleen Gerson’s study “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory” expresses the concerns contemporary adults aged 18-32 have about engaging in a marriage or marriage like family in regards to dual income families and single parenthood. The people that Gerson interviewed stated how they prefer to engage in a long lasting committed relationship with responsibilities dealt with on an egalitarian basis. The women primarily preferred this method, while the men chose a more “neo-traditional” view where their occupational responsibilities would surpass any other responsibility in the state of an emergency. His non-random sample came from various ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ homes. Which is important as to not possibly favor one side or the other. Of great importance in the identification that out of his subjects, those whose parents maintained a rigid ‘traditional’ home, would have more insecure family structure. Those whose parents would be flexible in responsibilities would have a more secure family structure.
This link provides the case of Reed vs. Reed, in which these parents’ son had recently deceased and both parents filed petitions to be the administrator of his estate. In Idaho it was legally documented that if more than one person applied to be administrator, that preference must be given to the male. The mother appealed the case and won; giving equal rights to women in such cases.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0404_0071_ZO.htm
The link below provides all cases since 1971 which have aided in the progression of women’s rights.
http://www.aclu.org/files/images/asset_upload_file420_24353.pdfl
In the article titled “Destined for Equality”, Jackson discusses that originally it was nearly impossible for women to be equal to men. He tells us, that in the 19th century, it was the men that controlled everything, they were superior. However in present day women have risen to become almost completely equal to the men. Women are getting more opportunities and benefits, which is creating more of an individual, rather then a man procession.
Five Ways Women Rights have changed:
A) When women were first seen entering the work place, it was rare and looked down upon from the men, but now more and more women are getting educated and are seen becoming CEO’s of large companies!
B) Education ties in with the work force. More women are staying in school longer to earn a degree such as a master or doctorate. In today’s society we are also seeing women go to school and learning how to start their own business. Some girls may be the first women in their family to even go to college
C) Birth Control for women started in the 20th century, which means that now women have control over whether or no they want to have children
D) In 1963 The Equal Pay Act was passed that required equal wages for men and women doing work. (http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm)
E) Today women also have an increase in protect against violence, sexual, physical and verbal abuse.
Even though there have been many improvement for women, there are still many struggle that we will have to face everyday. Overall it is still a male dominated world. But slowly women are working toward total equality.
Kathleen Garson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B” focuses on the different families and the difficulties that those families face, whether between the parent, the children, or paying the bills. She talks about the struggle for the parents to get and hold a job while taking care of the home duties. Gerson depicts the different types of families, such as a single parent versus a family with a mother and a father. In today’s society we see a lot more single parent families. Now that we have the means of being able to create a child without being married, it gives women the freedom to have children without that pressure. Also we see that people are getting married a lot later in life. There is nothing that say there is a right kind of family or not, each on is unique. This website explains the family structure and how it has been changing. (http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/familytypes.htm)
Works Cited
“Economic Rights of Women Are Human Rights – YouTube.” YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Family Ties: What Are the Family Types. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“Global Women’s Rights – YouTube.” YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“WIC – Women’s History in America.” Welcome to WIC – Breaking News and Opinion in San Diego: Women’s International Center. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“WOMEN RIGHTS COMMERCIAL – YouTube.” YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
In the article “Destined for Equality” by Robert M. Jackson, some intriguing points were presented. The main point of the article was that since the 1840s, women have been fighting for their equality in society. The interesting point presented was that women did not get their equality solely on their movements, but with the help of men in their own interests. What is normally taught on women’s pursuit to equality is women, and some of their supporting men, would have conventions and rally for their rights, and they were successful because society realized it was the right thing to do. Another side to the story explained in Jackson’s article is that this was also achieved due to men with business power or political power, who did not particularly care whether it was the right thing to do or not. As Jackson puts, “The driving force behind this transformation has been the migration of economic and political power outside households and its reorganization around business and political interests detached from gender.” In the time I live in now, I could relate this to the view on immigration. Of course there are those politicians who make their decisions because they believe it is the right thing to do, but I believe many of them only make their decisions, such as stricter immigration laws or less strict, because the politicians want more votes from whichever is the larger supporting party.
In the past few decades, we have continued to see a noticeable increase in women’s rights. In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled an end to sex discrimination in hiring, which laid the path to complete intolerance to discrimination in the labor force. Then in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first women appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. And just last decade, Hillary Clinton became the only First Lady ever elected to the United States Senate. http://www.womenatworkmuseum.org/Womens-Rights-timeline.pdf. While women’s equality has gradually been getting better, a remaining struggle is sexual harassment. The following video is a CNN clip on women’s struggle in the military and workforce with sexual harassment during the 1990s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ63UEKECHA. Another remaining struggle is the glass ceiling; however this struggle is beginning to become less and less of a problem. The following video shows a woman who has battled through the “glass ceiling” in this company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UaDLJU7CaM.
In the second article “Falling Back on Plan B” by Kathleen Gerson, a type of survey was taken by young adults of both genders between the ages of 18 and 32. This article outlines these young adult’s household while they were growing up. Some had bad experiences with single or married parents, some had good experiences and some had an overall mix. The main point though that all these kids had in common was the outlook on their family. The young adults today are more concerned with on how well their parents met the challenges, instead of what form they took. Gerson also notes that when the young adults were growing up, if their parents were not happy then that in turn lead to them not being happy, but when the parents did something to improve their lifestyle, that inspired them (the kids) and made them feel better and less depressed about their relationship with their parents. The outlook on how to meet their family’s challenges and happiness leads to the next generation of parenthood. Most young adults want a balance of both them and their spouse working and staying at home with the kids; so both the man and women have a “safety net” before they get married, that way if anything bad should happen, they would have a financial plan to manage their lives. I believe this point to be very true as I personally have this point of view. I plan on having a full time job and my wife to have at least a part-time job. I do believe that the mother needs more bonding with the children at the ages of 0-6, so if she needs to take extra time off of work then I will not object to it. I think this view is a general idea of my generation, for both parents to have an income, and to do what makes them happy – because if the parent is not happy then the children will not grow up happy, and that is neither healthy nor fair for that generation.
Works Cited:
VMware CEO talk on Glass Ceiling for Women, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UaDLJU7CaM
CNN 1990 show – Sonya Live: Harassment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ63UEKECHA
Women’s rights time line: http://www.womenatworkmuseum.org/Womens-Rights-timeline.pdf
Jackson’s article talks about the beginning of women’s equality movement until the present day. Many women, as well as men, fought against discrimination. Women played the role as house sitters who cared for the children and men were the breadwinners of the house who went to work. In the early 1900s, these roles were almost definite. For a further example, “Women were identified with the household and maintenance of family life. Men are associated with income-generating employment and public life” (Jackson, 91). Gradually, there was a decline in women’s inequality. Women began to speak up and created the Suffrage movement. As society changed, gender equality began to decline. Men found new strategies and ways in their businesses that benefited women and allowed them to be able to become visible in society. For example, “Men who had power because of their positions in these organizations gradually adopted policies ruled more by institutional interests than by personal prejudices” (Jackson, 88). Today, government policies discourage sex discrimination and inequality laws in social institutions. More women work outside of the homes and enroll into school to obtain their degrees. There are also more women in government and political positions.
Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B”, talks about growing up in changing families. My generation is considered the “children of the gender revolution” who integrate work and family in different ways than our parents did. There are more “non-traditional” families today than one hundred years ago and many sociologists wonder if this is a good or bad social change. It is said that “the majority would like to create a lasting marriage (or a “marriage like” relationship) that allows them to integrate home and work in a flexible, egalitarian way. Young adults looked at how their parents provided economic and emotional support whether they were working or stay-at-home parents. This article shows how, depending on your family situation, the support for the child can be obtained and long lasting through any situation. Parental break ups and stable remarriages can help build support for the child or bring it down. Most people wish they can have an egalitarian relationship but, they are concerned that work demands and child rearing will get in between the success of this wish.
Five ways in which women rights have been improved in the last few decades includes:
1. “Also a product of decades of effort, the Nineteenth Amendment, finally ratified in 1919, at last granted women’s suffrage. The struggle for women’s right to vote was 0ne of the key elements in women’s overall fight for greater equality. Wyoming later became the first state where women had the right to vote when it was admitted in 1890. Other states followed, but the move for a constitutional amendment, although introduced as early as 1878, made little progress in Congress until 1912.” (http://www.academicamerican.com/progressive/topics/progressive.html )
There is also women’s right to vote video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0W8AXaHp1A&feature=related
2. “Then, in 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment, which had languished in Congress for almost fifty years, was finally passed and sent to the states for ratification. The wording of the ERA was simple: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” (http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html )
3. “We are being elected to public office at all levels of government. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress, in 1916. By 1971, three generations later, women were still less than three percent of our congressional representatives. Today women hold only 11% of the seats in Congress, and 21% of the state legislative seats.” (http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html )
4. “In the 1840s and 1850s, as the Industrial Revolution and factory labor took hold in the United States, more women went to work outside the home. By 1840, ten percent of women held jobs outside the household; ten years later, this had risen to fifteen percent.” (http://womenshistory.about.com/od/worklaborunions/a/early_america.htm )
5. “Women were not allowed to attend college before the Civil War. By 1890, 70% of all women in college were enrolled in coeducational colleges. This is not to say that women in college were a significant part of the population. In 1870 only .7% of the female population went to college. This percentage rose slowly, by 1900 the rate was 2.8% and it was only 7.6% by 1920.” (http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/college.htm )
I have also included a video that shows how the structures of families evolved over time.
“Destined for Equality” by Robert M Jackson demonstrates that gender inequality is becoming less and less apparent. The article tells the story of how it has been falling apart over the decades, and shows how women’s status has risen continuously. Jackson attributes the rising status of women to the emergence of modern political and economic organizations, which have helped to transform how women are portrayed in society. He states that although some individuals wanted women to stay in their traditional roles, it simply was not in the interest of businesses to keep inequality alive. Voting and societal stability were just two of the factors that helped to improve womens’ status. Womens’ efforts to rise in the world became steadily more successful as the patriarchal society as we knew it disseminated and economic power started to shift to large-scale businesses. One day, perhaps, men and women will have equal power and say in society, it is just a matter of how and when it will arrive.
“Falling Back on Plan B” by Kathleen Gerson focuses on the different views that children from the newer generations have different views on family values than children from older generations. Every child in America has a different background on family life and how they were raised. Hence, every child has a different view on how they want to run their family lives when they get older. Many, though, understand that the way they want to run their lives may not be attainable. Both males and females agree that they want a long-lasting relationship where both partners can contribute to the family. Both realize, however, that this may not be fathomable and they have come up with back-up plans. Both back-up plans center around financial stability and independence.
Here is an article about the rights of women throughout history: http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm
One way in which women have gained more power throughout history is through the passing of laws. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires equal pay for men and women doing equal work. Also, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against women by any company with 25 or more employees. Women in the workfield have increased in number incredibly over the past few decades. In the early 20th Century, more women than ever were going to school and working white and blue collar jobs.
Families keep continuing to change. More and more women are going to work, and many women are even the major breadwinners for their families. Also, since more parents are working than ever, children have more autonomy and freedom and can fend for themselves better. This could prove beneficial in the long run, as they become more independent.
How has the rising status of women impacted your family and life as a whole?
The first article “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson explains how over time there has been a greater move towards equality for women. What Jackson states that the past 150 years of American history can be dividend into three half-century periods (Jackson 90). What it shows is how much women’s equality has actually changed. It went from men providing for the family and women raising to children and taking care of the house to where we are now which his both men and women can provide for a family, get the same education, and beings able to receive a divorce if they’re not happy in their marriage. The Women Suffrage Amendment was passed, along with other laws that like women who were married were allowed to own property, employers not only hired single women but they also started to employ married ones as well, and women were now able to seek education at a higher level (Jackson 89).
In the past few decades there are so many ways in which women’s rights have improved. On way is to look at two different generations of a grandmother and her granddaughter. The grandmother wasn’t able to have the things that her granddaughter does like being able to go to school and get the same education as a man. Here’s a video that shows a grandmother and granddaughter: http://youtu.be/1hBd1HN7WJM. Another way is that now women can serve in the armed forces unlike in the past where only men were allowed to fight and the women were the nurses. A third way is that it’s not only the United States, in 2002 the European Union has also adopted various instruments designed to counter violence and discrimination against women in third countries (Kingdom of Belgium). This link shows the entire article about Belgium and women’s rights there: http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/policy_areas/human_rights/specific_issues/gender_and_women_rights/. Then there is that now women have say in the marriage/relationship. They can choose who they wish to be with and to marry. However is the marriage doesn’t work out then they can choose to leave and get a divorce instead of being stuck in a relationship that they are not happy in. In this article from the Dr. Phil website it lists some statistics about marriage even thought it doesn’t look good for American marriages at least there is say in it. http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/351. Finally, women aren’t seen as the ones that have to stay home and take care of the family, they are able to have a life outside of the home. Whether it is they have a job or they go out with some friends to check up on things going on.
The second article “Falling Back on Plan B,” by Kathleen Gerson talks about how the families are changing and that the change is big. It’s not like what it was back in the day where there were two parents in the household. In today’s world it isn’t uncommon for it to just be a single parent raising a family. She also focused on the numerous difficulties that family’s face, and how those families are changing over time. Today women don’t think about getting married and have kids by a certain age; they focus on getting an education and a job. In the article Gerson said that most women see work as essential to their own and their children’s survival, whether or not they marry (Gerson 103). To our generation it isn’t weird or feel wrong that both parents work it is just how things are. However, the fathers were seen as the ones who worked to take care of their family, but now women want to be able to have that decision just incase something happens like a divorce or a death. It would make it a little easier for the women to raise their family if they were employed. An example that came from the article was about this women Jasmine, her dad walked out them to live with another woman, her mother then fell into depression, and on top of it all she lost her grandmother who had helped out after her father left (Gerson 107).
Families will always be changing, that’s what happens when time keeps moving forward. In today’s world when people do start a family not only is it that the women take a few weeks even months off after giving birth but also so do the men. In some families it’s the mother that goes to work while the father stays home and is the stay at home dad. How this impacts our generation isn’t in a bad way like some might think, were able to see that raising a family is a sharing experience where both the mother and the father share the roles. Also it gives us a way to make our own decisions for our future, like whether the father wants to stay home to raise his kids, and that’s okay since there are other men out there who do that. Men wouldn’t have to feel ashamed and can be happy with their decision since stay at home dads are up 70% (this video talks about the family changing faces, with stay at home dads http://www.hulu.com/watch/71321/celebrating-mom-stay-at-home-dads-working-moms). Then there is the same sex couple, which isn’t anything bad. Growing up in a family that loves you whether it be one parent, two parents, or even the same sex couple all the children care about is that they feel loved.
Citations:
“Advice – Marriage and Divorce: The Statistics.” Dr. Phil.com. Dr. Phil Show. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“Gender and Women’s Rights.” Kingdom of Belgium Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Department Cooperation. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Skolnick, Arlene, and Jerome Skolnick. Family in Transition. 16th ed. Boston: 2011. pp 87-95 and pp 102-116. Print.
The article, “Destined for Equality,” by Robert Jackson discusses the advancements of women throughout history. From 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed it was made clear that men and women would not be equals. Until the mid 1800’s no person would have thought it was possible for women to even step out of being subordinate to men. However, inadvertently, men slowly gave women more and more rights and opportunities. By trying to further their own interests, men wore down inequality. “Industrial capitalism and rational legal government eroded gender inequality” (Skolnick 89). Politicians seeking their own agendas, business men being more focused on income, and men having less of a reason to keep women inferior led to the level of inequality lessening. Men were so focused on their own goals they didn’t even realize they were slowly making women more powerful.
Within the last few decades, women’s rights have improved in a number of ways. Women now hold almost as many jobs as men do. Although the workforce is not completely equal, great steps have been taken towards it. The Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on gender. The Equal Pay Act ensures that people will get equal pay for equal work. Even though men do still make more for the same work than women do, there is less of a gap today than there used to be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ztxY3h78wl . This video shows some statistics of how many women occupy what type of jobs. Another improvement has been with women gaining the right to their own sexuality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbhs6pIaVDI&feature=related. Starting at time 3:20, this video discusses how the invention of birth control gave women more power over their bodies and their lives. They could now control when, and if, they have children. It also allowed women to explore their sexuality in the same way men do, in and outside of marriage. The court hearings Roe vs Wade and Doe vs Bolton were ruled in such a way to protect the right of women to terminate a pregnancy, therefore legalizing abortion in the United States. Another gain for women is in the area of divorce. Women now are not required to have husbands since they can own land and make income for themselves. Women also have the opportunity to divorce men. The No Fault Divorce Law allows divorce with mutual consent. Women no longer had to prove that a man defied morality in order to divorce. They can now leave a man to find another without much of a hassle at all. Due to Title 9 of the Education Amendments, sex discrimination in all aspects of education is prohibited. Women have as much access to higher education today as men do in the United States. Perhaps more importantly, in the last few decades women have completed become liberated. They have all the same rights that men do. Craig vs Boren established new standards for abolishing laws that treat men and women differently. Thanks to this, many unfair laws have been eliminated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilrd0NPxuYA&feature=related . Starting at time 4:00, this video explains many of the accomplishments that women have made that I have described above.
Although women in the eyes of the law are equal, it is still clear that there are still inequalities present in society today. http://www.newint.org/features/2004/11/01/womens-rights/. This website describes some of the statistics that women face today and their struggles because of it.
The article, “Falling Back on Plan B,” by Kathleen Gerson discusses the many changes in family structure that we see with our generation. For years family dynamics have been changing. There are households with two parents; in some cases the mother works, in some she doesn’t. There are single parent homes as well. With family life taking on many different forms in the last few generations, the debate is brought up on how this affects our lives and future generations. Kathleen Gerson interviewed many 18-23 year olds to find out how family dynamics growing up affected their outlooks and perspectives. She found that people were more focused on the economically and financial support that their family offered growing up than on the form it took. Meaning it didn’t matter as much what the family dynamic was, as long as it was supportive and healthy. Gerson points out that the key to this supportive upbringing is flexibility. The flexibility of a family, in its gender roles specifically, is what determines the positive or negative effects it has. “Resistance to more flexible gender arrangements left them [parents] unable to sustain an emotionally of economically secure home” (Sklonick 108). One thing people found most effective in terms of flexibility was the mother returning to or starting to work. It was reported that this improved marriages, financial support, and ultimately emotional support. In our generation, the ideal is to have a long lasting, flexible, and equal marriage or partnership. However, in a society with fragile relationships, lack of child rearing support, and increasing work demands, many are skeptic as to the reality of achieving this ideal. This is why both men and women have come up with their own “Plan B.” Women’s Plan B is to become financially and emotionally self-reliant. This way they don’t have to rely on a husband for their own support and happiness. This is so that if they end up in a bad marriage or in no marriage at all they do not have to worry about how to support themselves and can create their own resources. Men on the other hand, although they support the ideal of women and men sharing equal work and caretaking roles, have a different Plan B. Men are torn between the pressure to allow women to be equal and their own desire to be successful. Men are more inclined to fall back on a more traditional life style. They support the women’s “choice” to work, but view their work as a responsibility and believe it should come first. The way our generation grew up greatly affects our outlook on the future. We don’t automatically picture the mother working at home while the father goes out and works. High divorce rates push the idea that women have to be independent and self-reliant more and more. We see a variety of different possibilities for our future which can make future family structure unstable unless parents are willing to adapt. http://health.howstuffworks.com/pregnancy-and-parenting/parenting/understanding-family-structures-and-dynamics-ga.htm . This article explains some of the different types of family structures we see in our society today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPs8BKlZRZg . This video discusses some statistics that affect family dynamics and some reasons there may be such a range of family dynamics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKomAoAobYM&feature=related . This video shows different peoples’ opinions on modern family structure versus how it was in the past and how its portrayal in media has changed. My question to the class is how has these family structures affected your life? What do you see as the most successful type of family through your experiences? How does this affect your decisions in planning your future?
We read two articles for this blog post: “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson and “Falling Back on Plan B,” by Kathleen Gerson. Jackson’s article discussed gender inequality and the transformation that it has taken throughout the years while Gerson’s article discussed the transformation within the familial structure in our generation.
The first article entitled, “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson analyzed the transformation that the role of women in the American society has experienced throughout history. Dating back to the formation of the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent birth of the United States of America, men had taken a superior role in society. Over time, however, through economic and political organization, women have gained success and larger roles. Such a thing did not happen overnight though, instead over a period of 100+ years. In three distinct periods, the outlook on women’s role in society gradually become more liberal and accepting of their successes. Lastly, Jackson brings up a very important point that we can look at the increase of gender equality in American society from to different vantage points: by looking at the advancement of gender equality throughout history; or by looking at how far women still have to go in order to achieve equality.
Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B,” speaks about the change in marital roles that have been experienced from one generation to the next. She interviewed a number of 18-32 year olds that all came from different familial environments. Whether they came from a stable and egalitarian family, or from a divorced and very unfair experience, each interviewee had their ideal marital situation that they hoped to achieve in their life. Gerson ultimately comes to find that each interviewee also had a specific “Plan B” if their ideal marriage ends up not working out. The women largely said that they would ensure their own financial stability and that they’d be able to support themselves before committing to a marriage. They also felt that they would be able to find comfort and stability from friends and family if necessary. The men had a different outlook. Some entertained a purely egalitarian relationship while others liked the egalitarian mentality but felt it would be their ultimate responsibility to be the “bread-winner” and not the wife. Gerson found that there still seems to be a divide between the “self-reliant” women and the “neo-traditional” men, but that both sides were “seeking more flexible ways to build careers, care for families, and to combine the two.”
Ways in Which Women’s Rights Have Increased in Past Few Decades:
Women have made advancement in the medical field
http://www.nejmcareercenter.org/career-resources/women-in-medicine.aspx
President Obama’s job plan yields a “gender-balanced solution to the jobs crisis.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/obamas-jobs-plan-women-benefit_n_955953.html
The family structure has proven to be dynamic and has changed throughout the years. No longer is the image of the 1950’s a goal, it’s more that families are making things work in whatever ways possible. Whether it’s a child that has grown up without her biological father as exemplified in Gerson’s article, where her stepfather has been her dad. Or where grandparents have played the leading authoritative role as shown in the article as well. The name of the game is flexibility for my generation, and as with anything, there are pros and cons, but families are finding what works best for them.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
What is the best approach to increase gender equality in our society? Top down? Grassroots?
Blog Response 3
Section 04
Over the years women have grown increasingly independent and have fought for rights, which were unimaginable in years past. In “Destined for Equality” by Robert M. Jackson, he talks about the two opposite ends of the spectrum for women’s rights. As he said in the “middle of the nineteenth century, few said that equality between women and men was possible or desirable.” But as years have gone by, women has strived to be more independent, and fought for the rights to vote, divorce, and receive an education and just as importantly, support their families with the right to work jobs with substantial income. The main argument in his article is that, today we can consider women to be far from equal with men, or we can look at the bigger picture and see how far we have come since the beginning of the women’s rights movement. In my personal opinion, I do believe we do have more things to accomplish, but we do have more rights than one person could even begin to explain to someone from the 19th century.
As children we were always taught that boys and girls were considered equal. Be it through television shows, or the classroom, we always had equal rights. But before our time, women were not allowed in the classroom. Women were not allowed to receive a college education in the past, but this year, 2011, it was determined that Harvard, the internationally accredited university, had admitted more women than they ever had in the past into their MBA program. (Associated Press, Harvard MBA program admits more women)
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-06-27/business/29707710_1_mba-students-mba-class-harvard-mba
“Title IX is a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding.” Most people believe that Title IX was passed to support women in sports. But not only did women win the right to participate in sports, including on the men’s teams if a women’s one was not available but it also includes the Access to Higher Education, Career Education, Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students, Employment, Learning Environment, Math and Science, Sexual Harassment, Standardized Testing and Technology.
The more known aspect to title IX is the right to play sports in a primarily mail media society. But a more recent example to prove our growth throughout history is from this past summer. The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup was watched by more people around the world than the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup. It just has proven that women have become equal with men on more than just a social and economic level.
http://www.titleix.info/History/History-Overview.aspx
Besides the obvious changes, we see more women holding careers and men becoming stay at home parents. It was an unrealistic idea to have a “stay-at-home” dad rather than a “stay-at-home” mother. It shows us how everyday the right’s of women are increasingly becoming more available.
In Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory” she talks about how the equality of women with men in relationships have changed the way our generation views marriages and relationships. Gerson interviewed individuals from the ages of 18 to 32 to see how their views of marriages and gender roles differed from the marriages and gender roles they witnessed when they were growing up. (Gerson, 103) Children who grew up in single-parent households have a different perspective than children who grew up in households with both households having an income. Most children from single-parent households are okay with being alone, but if they do end up in a relationship, they know when and what are reasons to leave an unhealthy relationship. With more families become diverse, and the rise in single persons lifestyle, we see that a trend may form and the idea of a “traditional” family will deteriorate.
So the question that I ask is a simple one; when faced with the rising equality of women, and the independence in relationships, how do you perceive the future generations to view marriages and gender roles? Is may be a simple question, but the answer may be complicated.
Citations:
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16.
Jackson, Robert Max. “Changing Gender Roles.” Destined for Equality: the Inevitable Rise of Women’s Status. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1998. Print.
Press, Associated. “Harvard MBA Program Admits More Women This Year – SFGate.” Featured Articles From The SFGate. 27 June 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
“TitleIX.info – Math and Science.” TitleIX.info – Title IX Home. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Robert M. Jackson in his article “Destined for Equality” talks about how women today are almost equal to men. This is huge because many years ago women were seen as way lower than men. Throughout history many things have occurred in order to bring women closer to men in the equality chart. Women’s individual efforts are something that has had an impact, as well as, male supporters. Some males in political power supported women, but mostly just to gain citizen support. There were some who also supported women and just did it because they sided with women on certain topics. Even though there were some men who supported women, it was very little of the population who did. Some women even accepted their roles as just house wives. The point is that women have come a long way. They were always looked down upon by males and they were never thought to ever get close to being equal to men. Now in our society they are still not equal but women are pretty close to being equal to men. According to the link below women have gotten many rights since the 1860’s. Women have gotten the right to vote. They have also gotten the right to divorce. Custody of children rights have also improved since then. During World War I many job opportunities opened up for women because men were away fighting. Women now have the right to own property and the right to higher education. Throughout this journey women have gotten many others to support their movements towards equality.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/brave_new_world/women.htm
Kathleen Gerson in her article “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory” concentrates more on families. Just like women rights, families are also changing. Older generation families usually consist of the father who works many hours and concentrates on the expenses, the mother who stays at home cleaning, cooking and watching over the kids, and the children. The view of families is changing. There are more single parent families now in days and there are more women who are more focused on their careers. The structure of a family is extremely important because it affects the child in many ways. Kathleen Gerson shared with us in her article that many children whose parents undergo breakups wished that their parents would have stayed together, but about the same amount of children also believed that it was better that their parents underwent a brake up because it brings less problems to the house. The upbringing of a child reflects on some of the child’s future choices. Both men and women have a plan for the future but they both also have back up plans. The females tend to want to work instead of staying at home in case of separation or divorce from their spouse, or even the fear of not finding their significant other. Male’s backup plans tend to lean towards having the wife stay at home while they go out and work, like the “old traditional family”. Over the past couple of years families have been changing. Since there are more women who are more career centered, women are having less children and they are having them later. So, family sizes are decreasing and there are less young people getting married. Also, since women are becoming more educated, they are spending more time in school and at the work place while the number of stay at home dads is increasing.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_n3_v113/ai_8873285/
http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/altoptgenl/a/stay_home_dads.htm
Discussion Questions:
The “traditional family” back in the days consisted of a father who worked outside of the home, the mother who stayed at home to raise the children and the children. In the United Sates today there are more women than men who are seeking higher education and there are more men who are staying at home taking care of the children (because of the increase of career centered women). Do you think that it will ever get to the point that women would be the ones in charge of supporting the family economically? While the father is the one who stays at home with the children? Do you think that this would ever become “socially expectable” in our society?
The summary of Destined for Eqauality is about women gaining equality in present day. Throughout the reading, Robert M. Jackson writes how women are still trying to fight for inequality but also have done an amazing job gaining what they already have earned. Jackson also wonders if there will ever be equality amongst the genders. He writes about how it has improved like how from 1890 to 1940, women’s opportunities have improved (Jackson 92).
In the last few decades, women have made huge steps of progress toward equality. In 1973, women were able to legally have the choice of getting an abortion. In 1978, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn’t allow discrimination against pregnant women when applying for a job. Teachers were taught gender equality due to the Gender Equality in Education Act, in 1994. The Supreme Court rules that college athletics must involved around the same number of men and women to qualify for federal support. This was part of Title IX in 1997. Also in 1994, The Violence Against Women Act funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence. It provided a national 24-hour hotline for battered women, and increase police and court officials’ sensitivity on the subject (http://www.legacy98.org/timeline.html).
In the article “Fall Back on Plan B,” Kathleen Gerson arranges interviews of people between the ages of 24 and 32 to see how drastically the family model has changed over a short period of time. She has people explain the different ways they felt and the reading consists of different types of families. One person, Josh, had parents that fought constantly when he was a child. They eventually got divorced and his mom went into the working world. His father got into a program due to a drug addiction and eventually the family was put back together and Josh claimed that they were very close and that there was a new relationship with him and his father.
Gerson also writes about gender divide and how some young couples fear they are making a wrong decision or after they get a divorce how differently each of them live. Kids who lived in homes with a single parent or working mother seemed to fair well and continue to strive (Gerson 112).
Families have changed in many ways during my generation. During the early 1990s, families consisted of two parent homes, but now there is a lot of change. In the present time, a short twenty years later, it is more common to see a single parent home.
In Robert M. Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality”, Jackson states that our society did not even question the role of men and women during the 19th and early 20th century. Men were always the head of the household and controlled how financially stable the family was, and the women were in charge of the domestic duties of the household. In modern America, it has become more socially acceptable for woman to take on many roles or careers that were once male dominated. This is allowing women to become more independent thus allowing them to rely less on their husbands for financial stability. These changes has created more opportunities for women over the past few decades including more job opportunities, higher education opportunities, the expansion of women’s legal rights, the expansion of women’s social rights, and most importantly, the rise of feminist movements.
Works Citied:
http://conev.org/women.html
In Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory,” she focused on the threats traditional family life have faced over time and the changing family dynamics that we will begin to see in our future. Divorce rates are at an all time high, thus encouraging more women to get jobs outside the household in order to live a more independent lifestyle. The issue however, comes into play in the role of rearing children. If the focus starts to become more on financial stability, the family will focus less on rearing their children, thus risking them of leading unhealthy habits. This is easier said than done because men are more likely to fall back on a traditional view of marriage where the housewife should take care of the family while they hold prestigious careers. This leaves our generation more skeptical on how this will balance out in terms of holding a healthy and successful marriage.
In the first article, it discusses the slow progression towards men and women’s equality. It is stated on page 87, “In the middle of the nineteenth century, few said that equality between women and men was possible or desirable.” However, as the article progresses it talks about how nowadays that statement is the opposite. Within the last 150 years or so, the resistance towards women’s aspirations has decreased. Politicians helped as well by passing laws giving married women rights to their property; not just men. Women were being hired more than ever at jobs and they even had opportunities in the education field. Yet, with all of the achievements, women have still not 100% equality. With that said though, the few walls that are holding them back are luckily falling down.
Women’s rights have improved a crazy amount. Women now have the ability to divorce their husband when unhappy, they can participate in voting and all politics for that matter, they are able to hold a job while having a family, they can own their property, and unlike the 1940’s, they can get a college education. (Jackson,92-93)
In the second article, Gerson talks more about families and how your typical 50’s family does not necessarily exist anymore. It’s not common anymore for a dad to work a nine to five job and come home to his wife cooking dinner and cleaning the house. In today’s society, being a multi-tasking working mother is a more common goal and more natural to see in a family. This article really stresses the idea of women finding a reliable and egalitarian partner that supports their decision to be a mother as well as a worker. Many people between the ages of 18 and 32 were interviewed in this article. It gives a great variety of opinions on what to expect in the future and what men and women hope for. It’s stated that more thank three-fourths believed that having both mom and dad working provided more income and a more satisfying image for marriages. (Gerson 104)
When it comes to those who went through their parent’s breakup, more than half wished their parents had stayed together. However, close to half believed was actually better because there were two happy homes and no conflict compared to one miserable home with conflict. In contrast to that, those who were raised in a home where the marriage survived felt a more economic stability and liked the benefits. (Gerson 104)
Many kids felt that having a steady income whether it was from a single mom, both parents, or even grandparents made for a better childhood. As long as they were provided for in someway and the people in the household were happy, life was good. It says in the text that three-fourths of those who were raised in a dual-earner household want their spouses to share the same experience. Four-fifths of women want an egalitarian relationship, as well as two-thirds of men. This goes to show that society has changed so much. Not many people want the traditional lifestyle anymore of a man working all day and bringing home the money while the mom plays housewife. One boy even states that he wants his relationship to be equal. Either way he would be happy. If his wife wants to work, he says go for it. However, if she gets to a point in her like where she wants to stop, he is fine with that too. (Gerson 108-111)
I believe this is impacting our generation because more and more women are striving to be independent. If something goes wrong in their marriage, they don’t want to be stuck. If they get abandoned randomly, they don’t want to be poor. For a lot of women, they just want to be able to bring in extra income and make a name for themselves; not just live in the light of their husbands. It’s proven more and more everyday that dad’s can be more involved in their children’s life while still having a job. Women can still be a great mom, take care of the kids, cook the meals, but still work. More and more people are aspiring to live this egalitarian life.
Julianne Malone
Women have come a long way from the days of inequality but there still is a long way to go. In the article, “Destined for Equality”, by Robert M. Jackson he describes how women have struggled for more desirable treatment. Since the 19th century equality between men and women was not that common. Women became more attached to the household duties while men dominated the business and political roles (pg 87) . Women have always been subordinate to men across many different cultures (pg 87). Most people believed that men’s power and “dominance was natural and unchangeable part of life” (pg 87). Women have spent centuries fighting against prejudice and discrimination in America. Powerful men in businesses, politicians giving rights to women and academic institutions opened their doors to women which preserved and expanded their economic and political power which in turn improved women’s rights and status in society (pg 89). Although American women have come a long way from 150 years ago, there still seems to be gender inequality. Women still mostly have the sole responsibility of raising children, receive less income than males of the same jobs and have less access to economic/political power (pg 93). New laws have been implemented to eliminate sex discrimination and more women have been accepted into the political and economic systems. Women have finally achieved access to all levels of education and have gained more control over their reproductive processes. It has also become more socially acceptable to end marriages in divorce if the woman is unsatisfied (pg 93).
In Kathleen Gerson’s article, “Falling Back on Plan B” she explains how young adults today grew up in households where mothers were in the workforce and parents made many alternatives to traditional marriage. Gerson focuses on her interviews with both men and women who explain how well their parents met the challenges of providing economic and emotional support than on what form their families took (pg 103). Gerson found that most men and women despite their different experiences within their families, hope to combine the traditional value of lifelong commitment with the modern value of flexible sharing (pg 103). Blending home and work in a egalitarian way is the goal of most men and women of the “children of the gender revolution.” Gerson spoke with many people who had parents who reorganized raising the children and working in a more flexible, less gender-divided way (pg 106). Many young adults acknowledge the sacrifices their parents made and value the lessons from watching their parents find ways to create a better life for their families. Gerson also discusses “Women’s Plan B” which is when most people “build a non-negotiable base of self-reliance and an independent identity in the world of paid work”(pg 109). Many women “Men’s Plan B” is how men want a “modified traditionalism that recognizes a mother’s right (and need) to work, but puts his own career first” (pg 111). Gerson concludes that many young adults remain skeptical about their chances of achieving their ideals.
Some examples the ways in which families continue to change are: same-sex couples having children through adoption and sperm/egg donors. These families are non-traditional and have recently become more socially acceptable. Many families now are single-parent households which changes the way children are raised. These families impact our generation because as society accepts new ideas about men and women within families it becomes more common which changes family dynamics and norms. I believe that society has come a long way into accepting different gender roles and family situations. I think society has changed for the better. Women and men are more flexible with their strategies for a more egalitarian society.
Five ways in which women’s rights have improved in the last few decades are:
Title IX
Women’s Equality Day
In 1994 The Violence Against Women Act tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.
In 2009 President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. Previously, victims (most often women) were only allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. This Act is named after a former employee of Goodyear who alleged that she was paid 15–40% less than her male counterparts, which was later found to be accurate.
In 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work
Nike Commerical Men vs. Women 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_W1sP344NM
Hilary Clinton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXmm0mO3PG0
Informative Websites:
American Civil Liberties Union Website http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights
Women’s rights http://womensrights.change.org/
Women’s International Center http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm ‘
Robert M. Jacksons article, “Destined for Equality” is about the progression of women’s rights and how it has accomplished so much in the last century, but yet there are still many grounds that women have not yet accessed.
The first subject he talks about is how women’s rights were not only achieved by supporters (female and male) who protested for female rights, but also due to economical and political conditions that were undergoing large changes. Businesses looking for profit and politicians looking for more power through votes began creating policies and laws that would help further advance their own personal agendas but happened to work against gender biases. Although it was not originally meant to help women’s rights progress and it did not completely eliminate gender biases, this was the beginning of declination in gender inequality.
Although it would take several decades, women today enjoy all the same liberties as men do and no longer need to rely on marriage as a way of making it in life. Some of the things that have improved over the last few decades are a woman’s right to vote, own property, higher education, legal and political status, and control over their sexuality and divorce. These rights have given women the option to follow two kinds of lifestyles now that as sociologist Mirra Komarovsky states “serious contradiction between two roles.” These two roles are the “feminine role” and the “modern role”. The feminine role follows the classic role of deference to men and the responsibilities of domestic household chores. The second is the “modern role” that partially eliminates the difference in sex due to a female’s education and other qualities that allows her to live independent from a man.
He then finishes off on the idea that although their have been tremendous strides in women’s equality, their equality is not completely matched to the opposite sex. Women still have to raise the child, get poorer jobs and have less power in political powers. However it is not unreachable, for now we as Americans are at a time where sexism is frowned upon, making the last few steps towards “true equality” to far.
The second article “Falling Back on Plan B”, discusses the different types of families that we see today and how they have affected children and adults and their ideas of their future families. These types of families of diverse situations (such as the single mom, or the step-parent, Etc) had equally both positive and negative outcomes on certain children’s lives. However, when it came about the concern of the family’s image, there was no concern or pressure that families had to match the image of a “nuclear family” where the man brings the meat and the wife cooks it, but there was more focus with economic stability and some form of parental support that came up as the primary concerns in a family.
After asking about their childhoods, the interviewees were then asked how they would see their future families. Both women and men said they wished for a lifestyle where the domestic and job load was an equal and fair share. However, many found their expectations unrealistic. When asked on what their back up plan would be, men prompted mostly towards a modified version of a “traditional family” where women were more favorable of an “independent life-style” focusing on their careers.
Do you feel that the idea of sharing both home and financial responsibilities is realistic ideal, or do you feel that “Plan B” is more sensible? And if “Plan B” is more realistic, do you believe it will create a gender gap?
Link to Share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP7s6CNHTOs&feature=related
The reading “Destined for Equality”, by Robert M. Jackson was very truthful in the way that it discusses how women have been gaining rights over the years, yet at the same time there are still large gaps in certain areas between men and women, and in some circumstances, there are still residual inequalities. Jackson starts off this article by saying, “For a long time, the impending extinction of gender inequality was hidden from all” (87). One hundred and fifty years ago, men dominated in many aspects of life, and no one really thought that women would ever be given equal opportunities. “People believed that men’s dominance was a natural and unchangeable part of life” (87). Growing up in a world where women are allowed to do so many things, it is hard for me to imagine a time when women had no problem taking a backseat to men. Then something started happening where men were indirectly helping to close the inequality gap. “Powerful men (started) pursuing their interests in preserving and expanding their economic power, yet also improving women’s social standing” (89). Even though the government has made many chances over the years including the right to vote, independent citizenship, sexual freedom and full access to higher education, not all of the inequalities have been removed. When we think about gender inequality and it’s status today, Jackson encourages us to think about it this way: “It is seriously deficient when measured against full equality. It is a remarkable improvement when measured against past inequality” (94).
I found many improvements made over the past few decades in regard to women’s rights. In 1975 the court case, Taylor v. Louisiana made it illegal to exclude women from juries. In 1983, Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space (http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/womenofthecentury/decadebydecade/1980s.html). In 1969, the women and men of Seneca Falls created the National Women’s Hall of Fame, believing that the contributions of American women deserved a permanent home in the small village where the fight for women’s rights began (http://www.greatwomen.org/about-the-hall/our-history). In 1978 there were prohibitions made against discriminating in employment against pregnant women (http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/February/20070226171718ajesrom0.6366846.html). Also on this website, http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031601a.htm, there are bunch of statistics such as:
30% The percentage of young women, ages 25 to 29, who have completed college as of 2000, which exceeds the 28 percent of their male counterparts who have done so. Young women also had higher high school completion rates than young men: 89 percent versus 87 percent.
56% The proportion of all college students in 1998 who were women. Women have represented the majority of college students since 1979.
57% The proportion of masters’ degrees awarded to women in 1997. Women also represented 56 percent of the people awarded bachelor’s degrees, 44 percent of the law degrees, 41 percent of the medical degrees and 41 percent of the doctorates.
49% The percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded in business and management in 1997 that went to women. Women also received 54 percent of the biological and life sciences degrees.
84% The percentage of women age 25 and over with a high school diploma or more, which equals the percentage for men. The college degree attainment gap between the sexes has not closed completely, but it is closing. In 2000, 24 percent of women age 25 and over had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 28 percent of men.
In the second article, Kathleen Gerson talks a lot about how families have been changing. She refers to adults who are growing up today as “children of the gender revolution” (102). There has been a lot of rearranging of families in the way that a mother (female) and father (male) share work, build careers and take care of their family. Some people see a “wider return to tradition among younger women”, while others “foretell(s) a deepening ‘decline of commitment’” (103). In the past, it was very traditional that a family consisted of a mother and a father. The mother was a stay-at-home mom who was in charge of rearing the children, taking care of the housework, and making sure that dinner was provided to her husband when he came home. The father was the breadwinner and worked outside the home all day to provide economically for his family. These days we are seeing more and more single parent families, families where both parents have jobs outside the home, and people besides mothers and fathers raising children. Gerson poses an interesting question; “Does the diversification of families…represent a waning of family life or the growth of more flexible relationships?” (103). Both sides of the argument can be debated. In a “successful” family situation I agree with the author that, “the ability of parents…to reorganize child rearing and breadwinning in a more flexible, less gender-divided way” is the key (106). It should not matter whether or not a particular job or niche was held by the man of the house in the past. If an unanticipated situation arises, flexibility is what helps alleviate said situation. If the man of the house needs to stay home and help in the child rearing because the women has a better job and she needs to work full-time, then a switching of gender-roles is called upon. Men and women see the changes being associated to the family and they each have a unique way of preparing themselves for it. Many women are getting themselves good jobs so that they never have to depend on a man for financial reasons. They are prepared for the worst since they are seeing more and more relationships breaking up and marriages ending in divorce. Many men believe they should still be the bread winner of the family, and they “define equality as a woman’s ‘choice’ to add work onto mothering” (111). My generation is being impacted by this change in families because it is no longer common to think that the majority of people are coming from a nuclear family and questions about someone’s upbringing have to be sensitive to that fact. Becoming a single parent at a young age is no longer a “hush-hush” topic. There are many television shows including 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom which broadcasts girls who are having babies and keeping them at a very young age. I do think that kids growing up today with this changing family are used to seeing parents struggle and that they are more prepared for harsher realities. Even though this sounds sad, these children are not expecting a family to have a mommy who stays at home and a daddy who works his job where he makes a lot of money. That is not realistic anymore, and it is probably a good thing that children are exposed to this flexibility in families.
Discussion Question: Is there something that can be done to fix the instability of relationships these days? How did it get so bad and what are we doing/can we do to help change it?
In the article Destined for Equality the author Robert M Jackson describes how women’s rights have evolved throughout our history. This article starts out by explaining that in “In the middle of the 19th century, few said that equality between women and men was possible (Robert Jackson 87).” This of course was because at the time the role and expectation was very different than what it is now. This article goes on to highlight the decline of gender inequality in American Society. The author explains that this decline took place over 3 eras. These eras were The Era of Separate spheres which covers roughly from 1840-1890, The second era is The era of egalitarian illusions, roughly 1890-1940, and the third era was the era of assimilation which covers the time from World War II to the present. During this era the author explains how gender inequality started to decrease through time. Some examples of how this occurred for example “ We look back to a time when women were legal and political outcasts, working only in a few low status jobs, and always deferring to male authority (pg94).” This excerpt just explains what life was when gender inequality was at its highest point. The author also points out that “women now have a nearly equal legal and political status, far more women hold jobs, women can succeed at almost any occupation, women usually get paid as much as men in the same position, women have as much educational opportunity as men, and both sexes normally expect women to purse jobs and careers (pg94).” Both this passage just highlight some of the ways that women’s rights have improved over the years. I also found it interesting how the author talked about how gender inequality decreased not necessarily because men wanted it to but because they were more concerned with women as a political entity that they passed the law to better their standing among potential voters.
This is just a video briefly highlighting the history of women’s rights
In the Article by Kathleen Gerson, she talks about how this generation is going to experience differences growing up in their families the children of past generations. This is due to the redefining of women’s role. For example the “Young adults today grew up with mothers who marched into the workplace and parents who forged innovative alternatives to traditional marriage (pg 102).” She goes onto explain that this redefining of roles and growing up in these families can be both good and bad. For example, after interviewing many of the families she found that most “young women and men had largely positive experiences with mothers who worked and parents who strove for flexibility and equality (pg 112).” On the other hand she goes on to explain that many young couples feel that this may be unachievable and create a greater divide between the self reliant women of today and the neo traditional man.
Click to access Times_Are_Changing.pdf
This is an article that just talks about how the changing of gender roles affect the household.
Discussion Question?
Is there any negative effects of these changes in gender roles?
The reading “Destined for Equality”, by Robert M. Jackson was very truthful in the way that it discusses how women have been gaining rights over the years, yet at the same time there are still large gaps in certain areas between men and women, and in some circumstances, there are still residual inequalities. Jackson starts off this article by saying, “For a long time, the impending extinction of gender inequality was hidden from all” (Jackson, 87). One hundred and fifty years ago, men dominated in many aspects of life, and no one really thought that women would ever be given equal opportunities. “People believed that men’s dominance was a natural and unchangeable part of life” (Jackson, 87). Growing up in a world where women are allowed to do so many things, it is hard for me to imagine a time when women had no problem taking a backseat to men. Then something started happening where men were indirectly helping to close the inequality gap. “Powerful men (started) pursuing their interests in preserving and expanding their economic power, yet also improving women’s social standing” (Jackson, 89). Even though the government has made many chances over the years including the right to vote, independent citizenship, sexual freedom and full access to higher education, not all of the inequalities have been removed. When we think about gender inequality and it’s status today, Jackson encourages us to think about it this way: “It is seriously deficient when measured against full equality. It is a remarkable improvement when measured against past inequality” (Jackson, 94).
I found many improvements made over the past few decades in regard to women’s rights. In 1975 the court case, Taylor v. Louisiana made it illegal to exclude women from juries. In 1983, Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space (http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/womenofthecentury/decadebydecade/1980s.html). In 1969, the women and men of Seneca Falls created the National Women’s Hall of Fame, believing that the contributions of American women deserved a permanent home in the small village where the fight for women’s rights began (http://www.greatwomen.org/about-the-hall/our-history). In 1978 there were prohibitions made against discriminating in employment against pregnant women (http://www.america.gov/st/diversity-english/2007/February/20070226171718ajesrom0.6366846.html). Also on this website, http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031601a.htm, there are bunch of statistics such as:
30% The percentage of young women, ages 25 to 29, who have completed college as of 2000, which exceeds the 28 percent of their male counterparts who have done so. Young women also had higher high school completion rates than young men: 89 percent versus 87 percent.
56% The proportion of all college students in 1998 who were women. Women have represented the majority of college students since 1979.
57% The proportion of masters’ degrees awarded to women in 1997. Women also represented 56 percent of the people awarded bachelor’s degrees, 44 percent of the law degrees, 41 percent of the medical degrees and 41 percent of the doctorates.
49% The percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded in business and management in 1997 that went to women. Women also received 54 percent of the biological and life sciences degrees.
84% The percentage of women age 25 and over with a high school diploma or more, which equals the percentage for men. The college degree attainment gap between the sexes has not closed completely, but it is closing. In 2000, 24 percent of women age 25 and over had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 28 percent of men.
In the second article, Kathleen Gerson talks a lot about how families have been changing. She refers to adults who are growing up today as “children of the gender revolution” (Gerson, 102). There has been a lot of rearranging of families in the way that a mother (female) and father (male) share work, build careers and take care of their family. Some people see a “wider return to tradition among younger women”, while others “foretell(s) a deepening ‘decline of commitment’” (Gerson,103). In the past, it was very traditional that a family consisted of a mother and a father. The mother was a stay-at-home mom who was in charge of rearing the children, taking care of the housework, and making sure that dinner was provided to her husband when he came home. The father was the breadwinner and worked outside the home all day to provide economically for his family. These days we are seeing more and more single parent families, families where both parents have jobs outside the home, and people besides mothers and fathers raising children. Gerson poses an interesting question; “Does the diversification of families…represent a waning of family life or the growth of more flexible relationships?” (Gerson, 103). Both sides of the argument can be debated. In a “successful” family situation I agree with the author that, “the ability of parents…to reorganize child rearing and breadwinning in a more flexible, less gender-divided way” is the key (Gerson, 106). It should not matter whether or not a particular job or niche was held by the man of the house in the past. If an unanticipated situation arises, flexibility is what helps alleviate said situation. If the man of the house needs to stay home and help in the child rearing because the women has a better job and she needs to work full-time, then a switching of gender-roles is called upon. Men and women see the changes being associated to the family and they each have a unique way of preparing themselves for it. Many women are getting themselves good jobs so that they never have to depend on a man for financial reasons. They are prepared for the worst since they are seeing more and more relationships breaking up and marriages ending in divorce. Many men believe they should still be the bread winner of the family, and they “define equality as a woman’s ‘choice’ to add work onto mothering” (Gerson, 111). My generation is being impacted by this change in families because it is no longer common to think that the majority of people are coming from a nuclear family and questions about someone’s upbringing have to be sensitive to that fact. Becoming a single parent at a young age is no longer a “hush-hush” topic. There are many television shows including 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom which broadcasts girls who are having babies and keeping them at a very young age. I do think that kids growing up today with this changing family are used to seeing parents struggle and that they are more prepared for harsher realities. Even though this sounds sad, these children are not expecting a family to have a mommy who stays at home and a daddy who works his job where he makes a lot of money. That is not realistic anymore, and it is probably a good thing that children are exposed to this flexibility in families.
Discussion Question: Is there something that can be done to fix the instability of relationships these days? How did it get so bad and what are we doing/can we do to help change it?
Throughout American history the roles of the women in society and within their own family have changed drastically. In “Destined For Equality” Robert M. Jackson discusses how the women of America have overcome their menial roles in society and now in present day find themselves equal with men. An interesting point that Jackson brought up was that women equality with men was not possible or desirable, but obviously history has proved that theory to be wrong. Women eventually gained voting rights in 1920, more education and economic opportunity, sexual control, and an overall respect within society. These rights were gained gradually. In an article http://www.girlsinc.org/news/archives/role-of-women-society.html it talks about how women have made significant strides in government, sports, industry and media. It’s not only women who have changed; men have become more accepting of progressive women with each generation. Men have accepted women in the workplace and in society.
These drastic changes did not only affect women it affected families. The mother and father have similar duties when it comes to raising their children. In “Falling Back on Plan B” Gerson talks about how children viewed their mothers going to work. Both of the children seemed to be proud of their mothers taking on a new job. In my family my mom is actually the bread winner and since she makes a good salary this allowed my dad to retire from the fire department early. I, like the kids quoted in “Falling Back on Plan B”, feel proud of my mother and respect the fact that she is successful. With the modern family there has been an increase in the divorce rate. This is affecting children because they have to grow up in a single parent home. This is an unfortunate result of how society has changed, children have taken and children have been emotionally discarded.
Destined for Equality discussed the inevitability of woman equality. It was believed that men would always be dominant over women, and that it was a natural and unchangeable part of life. However, Jackson points out that this equality began to crumble around the early 19th century and continued until today. This is due to the idea that men being dominant over women was not considered when many decisions were made. Powerful people simply did what was best for them. This ended up with women gaining many rights, such as increasingly equal jobs and education. Five ways women’s rights have improved over the last few decades are divorce is now frequently accepted, jobs are equally available to men and women, increasingly available birth control and full access to education (Jackson). I have included a link describing Women Equality Day, a day dedicated to celebrating equality for women.
http://nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php
Plan B discusses problems faced by families and how their children perceived these changes and how it affected them. For example, it touches on how parental breakups were sometimes relieving for the children, as it made their parents much happier, which in turn made them happy. It also goes into flexibility needed in relationships, as sometimes men need to stay home while the women work. The reading sheds some light on how families continue to change and how it is affecting our generation. It shows us that families are moving towards a family consisting of two working parents. This trend is seen to continue onto our generation, which may cause one parent to have to take care of the children while working, becoming a “superparent”. Also, some women are waiting longer to find the right guy to marry instead of settling down. They “replace” having a spouse with having close friends and family (Gerson). A good discussion question would be…In your opinion, can a family where both parents work function as well as a family where one parent works and the other cares for the children?
Jackson, Robert M. “Changing Gender Roles”. Allyn & Bacon. New York, 2011.
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory”. Allyn & Bacon. New York, 2011.
In Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality,” we read a discussion of the changes in time from gender inequality to gender equality. Jackson states that the old times of men’s social dominance was doomed from the beginning and soon became extinct. Slowly but surely, women were rising through the ranks in the social world and they gained their equality with men. For centuries the world was a male-dominated place. One by one, women began to stand up for themselves and demand their rights and equalities. The more they grew in numbers, the better there chances. Women soon gained the assistance of powerful men. Politicians passed laws giving married women property rights. Employers hired women in an ever-increasing number. Educators opened their doors to women (Jackson 89). Jackson states on page ninety that the past 150 years of American history can be divided into three half-century periods upon which women’s legal, political, and economical status’ changed dramatically. These status’ range from voting rights to equality in the work place. Even divorce and sexual freedom become available in these periods. Although things have improved greatly over the years, gender inequality is still not fully “extinct.” Sexism is still a problem in our world today, especially in the working world. Crimes such as rape and domestic abuse are also things that need to be dealt with more strictly and taken into much greater consideration.
The second reading, “Falling Back on Plan B,” by Kathleen Gerson, discusses the drastic changes in families. No longer do you see every family having the traditional ways: mother, father, son and daughter. It is no longer uncommon to see a single parent raising several children. This article focusses on the children of this generation, discussing how they react and handle certain situations of changing families. For example, on page 104, Gerson talks about children who dealt with separated parents. She says that many of the children wished at first that their parents would get back together. However, once they saw their parents “get back on their feet and create better lives,” they realized it was what was best for the family. Gerson also talks about the differences between women’s and men’s “plan b.” For women, they feel they need to work in case of financial unstableness. They need a sense of independence, so they do not want to have to rely on the male. For men, however, they feel that they need to be the “Breadwinner” of the household. Their careers come first.
Jackson’s article, “Destined for Equality” discusses the popularity and demand of women’s rights, and the increase of gender equality in our society. Women have always had important roles in our society, and so have men. The article explains how these roles have evolved of the course of time. In previous decades women had the roles of staying home, taking care of the kids, cleaning the house, and preparing meals for the family. Men were the breadwinners, took care of business, and made all the decisions in the house. Over time, these trends began to change. Seeing more women attending college, getting jobs, being elected into political office, and having the same jobs and roles that men have. Jackson explains that all of these things are a result of industrial capitalism and legal policies.
Kathleen Gerson’s article “ Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory”, discusses the issues of change in families. These changes can be healthy for a family, and how they can be detrimental to a family. She explains how children would rather feel happy than look happy. She also explains how all families go through tough times and face dilemmas, but that is what makes families stronger, and brings them together.
1.
Wages and working conditions: The National Women’s Trade Union League was established in 1903. It was an advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
2.
The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor was formed in 1920. It was formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
3.
Women’s sexual freedoms over the years have changed. Margaret Sanger opened the first US birth-control clinic in NYC in 1916, but was shut down less than two weeks later. She opened another in 1923, where she helped establish Planned Parenthood.
4.
In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves birth control pills. Allowing women to decide for themselves whether they want to have children or not.
5.
California becomes the first state to adopt a “no fault” divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 102-16. Print.
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. 87-95. Print
Discussion Question:
What is the most significant change in women’s rights?
The article “Destined for Equality” by Robert M. Jackson discussed how the role of women has changed throughout the years. Before in the 19th century, few said equality between men and women was possible but now women are well on the way to become men’s equal according to the article. As stated in the article, “the driving force behind this transformation has been the migration of economic and political power outside households and its reorganization around business and political interests detached from gender.” Powerful men who sought to further their own interests launched institutional changes that eventually reduced the discrimination against women. These changes include laws being passed that gave women property rights, employers hiring women and education being more open to women. This article also divides the 19th century into three periods in which as the time passed women’s rights increased. These three periods were 1840-1890 “The Era of Separate Spheres” in which women and men were believed to be from two different worlds and women could only find jobs if they were single, very few women were admitted to college, there was almost no divorce granted for women and the women’s role was domestic. The second period was 1890-1940, “The Era of Egalitarian Illusions.” In this era women’s rights increased but not so much. Married women and educated women were able to find jobs now, there were an increasing number of women going to college, divorce was becoming more available, and now the cultural image was more of an educated mother capable of employment and public service. The final era was 1940-1990, which was the “Era of Assimilation.” In this era all kinds of jobs were available to all kinds of women, women had full access to all levels of education, divorce was freely available and accepted, and the cultural image was of careers and marital equality. Even though women’s rights were increased there were still some inequalities in a few places like the ability of women getting higher jobs and being paid the same as men in these jobs. The final argument in this article was how to evaluate the transformation of women’s rights: “evaluate how short from equality women now fall, or we can try to understand how far they have come from past deprivations.”
The article “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Uncharted Territory” by Kathleen Gerson discussed the impact of how children were brought up different from “traditional” way and how that would influence how they would grow up and have a family. “The children focused on how well their parents met the challenges of providing economic and emotional support than on what form their families took,” as stated in the article. Many of them aside from what they experienced in their family would like to create a lasting marriage that allows them to blend home and work in a flexible, egalitarian way as mentioned in the article. If things didn’t go as they wanted men and women has Plan B. Plan B for me was to allow women the opportunity to work but puts own career first. Plan B for women is that they are “pursuing a strategy of autonomy rather than placing their own fate or their children’s in the hands of a traditional relationship,” as indicated by the article.
Through the Women’s Right movement one change that has improved women’s rights has been the right to vote. Women are now being elected in public office in the government, we have entered different professions that before were impossible to do like business and trade. We can now be in the military and we have access to education, according to the History of the Movement website (http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist.html).
Families are continuing to change in society because now there are more different types of families. Families can include a single parent household either a mom or dad, having step parents or living with grandparents. There are also families that are together but are not exactly happy together. Some choose to divorce and that can have an impact on the child depending on how the divorce plays out. Divorce might lead to many changes, changes that the child isn’t used to and probably doesn’t want. There might also be dispute over custodial rights which are never a good thing for a child to be in between of an argument like that (http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/divorce.html#).
Overall, based on everything I have read I see there have been major improvements in women’s rights which is great but there is still few things that can be done. Also in terms of how families play out, I think it is important for children to learn that parents do their best for their child regardless of the circumstance they are in. Once a child is able to acknowledge that and respect that, their decision for a family will be a good one.
Discussion Question: Based on how you were brought up, how would you want your family to be like?
Throughout American history the roles of the women in society and within their own family have changed drastically. In “Destined For Equality” Robert M. Jackson discusses how the women of America have overcome their menial roles in society and now in present day find themselves equal with men. An interesting point that Jackson brought up was that women equality with men was not possible or desirable, but obviously history has proved that theory to be wrong. Women eventually gained voting rights in 1920, more education and economic opportunity, sexual control, and an overall respect within society. These rights were gained gradually. In an article http://www.girlsinc.org/news/archives/role-of-women-society.html it talks about how women have made significant strides in government, sports, industry and media. I believe women’s impact on sports in society has changed a lot even in my lifetime, the women’s world cup 8 years ago was not nearly as followed compared to the previous world cup. Sports are a huge part of our society and it’s great to see women making an impact. The head coach of the Stanford’s women’s basketball team describes how important women’s sports are. It’s not only women who have changed; men have become more accepting of progressive women with each generation. Men have accepted women in the workplace and in society.
These drastic changes did not only affect women it affected families. The mother and father have similar duties when it comes to raising their children. In “Falling Back on Plan B” Gerson talks about how children viewed their mothers going to work. Both of the children seemed to be proud of their mothers taking on a new job. In my family my mom is actually the bread winner and since she makes a good salary this allowed my dad to retire from the fire department early. I, like the kids quoted in “Falling Back on Plan B”, feel proud of my mother and respect the fact that she is successful. With the modern family there has been an increase in the divorce rate. This is affecting children because they have to grow up in a single parent home. This is an unfortunate result of how society has changed, children have taken and children have been emotionally discarded.
The article, Destined for Equality by Robert M. Jackson, discussed the development of gender equality throughout time. It can be seen that the roles that were played by women have greatly changed, and still continue to change. In the 19th century many believed that gender quality was possible, or even desired (Jackson 87).The lack of women’s rights can even be found in the Declaration of Independence (Jackson 90). It seemed that the male dominate world was natural and therefore it couldn’t be changed (Jackson 87). Progressively, men who held power positions in economics and politics adopted policies that evened the playing field for men and women (Jackson 88). The ironic part about this is that most of the men were not aware of the effects of their actions (Jackson 88). While there was progress being made in the favor of women- naturally some men disagreed with the changes, fearing the loss of their superior status (Jackson 88).
Because of the changes, women saw an improvement in their social standing (Jackson 89). The men who helped aid women had an agenda of their own. By helping the women they hoped to get more votes as well as provide more positive social order (Jackson 89).
5 Ways That Women’s Rights Have Improved
1. Women now have the ability to obtain a higher education, they are also about to attend the same institutions as men
2.Women now have access to a greater amount of resources, thus giving them more choices and better opportunities
3. Women have increased amount of control and rights over their reproductive process
4. Women are now about to obtain a divorce if that see fit, there has been a decreased social stigma associated with this
5. The number of opportunities in the work force has greatly opened up for women
This video, as silly as it may seem is shown in European countries to help promote gender equality. Personally, I think it’s interesting how they express positive social ideas in their commercials— you don’t really see this very much in the United States.
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/gender.shtml
This is a link from the United Nations website. It shows how improving the rights and equality of women is one of their primary goals.
Question: Can you think of any way that women are still discriminated against today?
Can you think of an occasion where men would be discriminated against because of their gender?
The second article, Falling Back On Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory by Kathleen Gerson discuss how the idea of the family unit has changed over time. It was determined that it was more important how and to what degree the family provided emotional and economic support versus what the family unit looked like (Gerson 103). There are many things that could possible threaten the family, this thing including demanding work schedules, insufficient child ccare, and unstable relationships (Gerson 103). It was determined that one of the most important qualities for a family to have is flexibility (Gerson 104). If the family is willing to adapt and go outside the ideas of the typical nuclear family then they are more capable of rolling with the punches of life.
The article also mentioned that there are many different types of families: single parent- both mother and father, families with stay at home parents, families with step parents, children who were raised by their grandparents, and this is just a limited list of family units that exist.
So that question can be asked, how does this idea of the ever changing family unit effect the generation that is growing up with these new dynamics. Here is the answer:
– 9/10 people hope to have children in the presence of a lifelong relationship (Gerson 108)
-Increasing number of women would prefer to have financial stability before they get married or have children (Gerson 109-110)
-Women are less concerned with being alone then they are with being in an unfavorable relationship (Gerson 110)
-Men are torn with the between their need to succeed and the desire to make their partner feel equal (Gerson 111)
This video shows different types of family units. It was made to help children understand that family come in all shapes and sizes.
Destined for equality.
The reading by Robert M. Jackson shows the progress over the past 150 years that women have made on becoming men’s equal. For the longest time, men were the dominant sex. Women were responsible for taking care of children and tending to the house. With the amount of compliance women set forth towards this life style, many were hesitant to see a change in status between the sexes. Jackson says that this change in gender equality was set forth and encouraged by economic and political organizations almost accidentally. (Jackson, pg. 88) Many changes have taken place since we first began to see the equality of men and women. Women slowly gained certain abilities for example married women began to have the power to own land. Educators opened doors to women, and employers began to higher women in ever-increasing numbers. (Jackson, pg. 89) Jackson goes on to say even with how far women have come; today they still are not one hundred percent equal to men. They are still left with the majority responsibility of taking care of the kids, and disguised discrimination along with harassment and intimidation. In the past few decades’ equality for women has taken a large step forward. Title IX is one major change we have seen. This states that no person in the US shall be on the basis of sex, excluded in the participation, be denied benefits from, or be discriminated under any activity receiving federal financial assistance. This mainly effected women’s sports in high school as well as college. Title IX was set forth-in 1972.
More recent movements for women were EMILY’s list in 1984, which deals with women in politics. Planned Parenthood vs. Casey in 1989. Which successfully challenged Pennsylvania’s Abortion Control act. In 1994 the Violence Against Women’s act was tightened. And in 2009 President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. As you can see even in recent years women have been gaining ground on equality.
The reading Falling Back on Plan B by Kathleen Gerson, described the different realities kids face when their family life is changed in different ways. From parents staying together the child’s entire life to parents who get divorced and much more, all these are ways in which families are continuing to change throughout time. (Gerson, pg. 105-107) Gerson has specific accounts from people commenting on their family history. The writer goes into detail on how the lessons people learn from their families growing up, have major influences on their lives to come. Families today continue to change in many ways. Today, it is more acceptable for parents to get divorced and for the kids to live between two houses. Kids’ living with one parent primarily is decreasing slowly from recent years but has still proven to be a major statistic. These changes in families have had huge impacts on our generation. Children being exposed to so much divorce lead them to the idea that it is ok and what is supposed to happen. If kids are getting this impression, it could change the definition of marriage completely.
Women rights links:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/women's%20rights
http://www.dol.gov/oasam/regs/statutes/titleix.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html
Changing family’s video.
The article, “Destined for Equality,” by Robert M. Jackson, discusses how throughout history, women have made increasing progress to be equivalent to men. Recognizing the challenges women have achieved in the past and, their social status today, one could only imagine how advanced and bright the future is going to be. This article compares women’s social status throughout different eras including; “The Era of Separate Spheres” (1840-1890), “The Era of Egalitarian Illusions” (1890-1940), “The Era of Assimilation” (1940-1990), and “Residual Inequalities” (1990-?). These eras illustrate how far women’s rights have come, however how there is still much room for improvement.
For further information, I included ways in which women’s rights have improved in the last few decades. Being so general, I focused my research on women in the workforce. In 1950, one in three women joined the work force and, by 1998, approximately three out of every five women partook in the work force. I found a graph that compares women’s ages and their status as working women from 1950 to 1998. Conclusively, labor force participation rate for women increased by 25.9 percent between 1950 and 1998 (33.9 percent in 1950, 59.8 percent in 1998), (http://humanresources.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=humanresources&cdn=money&tm=29&gps=614_415_1362_559&f=10&su=p284.12.336.ip_p560.11.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art03.htm). Between 1988 and 2008, working women’s individual shares increased from 45 percent to 48 percent and working men’s shares decreased from 55 percent to 52 (http://humanresources.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=humanresources&cdn=money&tm=195&gps=494_213_1362_559&f=10&su=p284.12.336.ip_p560.11.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art01.htm). In other words, just in a matter of 10 years, women’s shares in the labor field increased by 3 percent.
The article, “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory,” by Kathleen Gerson, discusses how families are continuing to change because more and more mothers are joining the work force. Some say that this trend with slow down because taking care of a family will need at least one parent’s undivided attention. For women, there is a pressure to be the “breadwinner” and caregiver, opposed to men, usually feel that they are most responsible just to be the primary “breadwinner.”
The most evident way in which families continue to change is our nation’s recession. This calls for great changes in our lifestyles which will impact my generation once we graduate and try to find jobs to pay off college. Most of us will be in debt from college for a majority of our lives. Because a majority of this country struggles financially, it is very common that both parents work to
http://humanresources.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=humanresources&cdn=money&tm=29&gps=614_415_1362_559&f=10&su=p284.12.336.ip_p560.11.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art03.htm
http://humanresources.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=humanresources&cdn=money&tm=195&gps=494_213_1362_559&f=10&su=p284.12.336.ip_p560.11.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art01.htm
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39416868/ns/today-money/t/americas-cheapest-family-we-are-hope-change/
The article by Robert Jackson basically made the argument that whether people intended to or not, industrial capitalism and the drive for weath and power among men led to the erosion of gender inequality. Through the desire to further personal gain, business owners and political leaders alike made short minded decisions that ultimately allowed women greater and greater equality. To Jackson, women’s status in society can be broken down into 3 eras; 1840-1890 in which women were morally romanticized but existed in a completely separate role from men, 1890-1940 in which women were rapidly gaining rights but still had a long way to go, and 1940-1990, in which women have reached almost full equality to men with just a few hurdles left to jump. In closing, he says that people can look at women’s struggle for equality from 2 different perspectives. On one hand, you can look at the remaining gaps in equality and see just how far women have left to go until they are fully equal. On the other hand, you can look at how far they have come and see the dramatic difference between today’s women and the women of the 1800s.
Gerson’s article forcuses more on the family than the roles of women. In the past, men were the ones going out to make a living while the women stayed home to focus on the domestic tasks. Now however, women are more career oriented and people are now mixing work, child raising, and household duties. He also argues that people are worried about ut their futures because of their upbringing.
He also discusses the child’s perspective whose parents have gone through divorces. Of those whose parents have divorced, they were divided in their feelings. They also feel that a good economic base and support are key to having a good childhood. Adults also have a different perspective on relationships. Now, both men and women feel less stable in just finding a husband/wife and relying on them for support, and now seek to have careers as a back up plan. I feel that this uncertainty causes people to exit marriages more easily, as about 50% of marriages are projected to end in divorce. (http://www.planocounseling.org/marriage-statistics-family-statistics/ ) Statistics show that this dramatically affects children, as they become much less successful academically (among other things) when their parents are divorced.
The first reading, “Destined for Equality” by Robert M. Jackson, explains the expanding role of women in society as an inevitable, and ultimately good, change. The author uses historical examples to explain how society’s laws and ideals are changing to eradicate gender inequality. Before the middle of the twentieth century, women were subordinate to their husbands; they had few legal rights of their own and that “dependence on men was perpetual and inescapable” (Jackson, 90). Jackson argues that although there are still inequalities present, “women now have greater resources, more choices in life, and a higher social status than in the past” (Jackson, 90).
Women’s rights have improved drastically in the last few decades. By the 1970s, women were serving in both Houses of Congress. Since then, women’s rights have been frequently brought to the front of the policy debates in both Houses. Several significant changes have occurred since this time. There is a protection of minimum wage for domestic workers (Fair Labor Standards Act, 1974), protections from discrimination of pregnant women in the workplace (Pregnancy Discrimintion Act, 1978), and support of child care programs through federal funding (Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, 1990) (Morse). There has also been an increase of protections against women from violence, both generally and domestically.
The second reading, “Falling Back on Plan B” by Kathleen Gerson, focuses on the changing structure of families and gender in modern society, and how those two are related. The author proposes that families that were more gender-flexible, meaning that mothers and fathers did not stick by traditional gender roles, were felt to be more supportive than those that weren’t, even when the relationships ended in divorce or separation. The author writes that participants in her study whose families were resistant to gender flexibility “described how their parent’s resistance to more flexible strategies for apportioning paid and domestic work left them struggling to meet children’s economic and emotional needs” (Gerson, 106). Thus, families who resisted the changing structure of a family from traditional gender roles were generally more unstable and unsupportive as opposed to those families who embraced the change.
Families are continuously evolving in our society. Couples are marrying for different reasons, and some are choosing not to have children at all. Marriage is no longer specifically for the purpose of having children. Divorce is still prevalent in our society, and many children are living in mixed families, with one biological parent and a step-parent that has married into the family. These families often have step-siblings as well, adding another new dynamic to a mixed family. I think that this is impacting our generation in that it is opening our minds to the idea that the concept of a family is fluid. It doesn’t have to abide by strict gender roles or a “traditional” family. A family isn’t defined by these things.
Personally, I come from a very nontraditional family. My parents divorced when I was 5, which isn’t unusual, and both of them have remarried. However, my family is very atypical in that my father is gay. When my parents divorced and he remarried, he married his partner, my step-dad. Despite coming from a family that many people would consider to be strange, I am happy to be a part of the family I am, because it has opened my mind and shown me first-hand that family is not as strict as society once thought it was. My family doesn’t abide by traditional gender roles at all, and I know that I am better because of it. It has affected me greatly; I see life and relationships in a completely different way from my peers who have not experienced growing up with a gay parent.
References
Gerson, Kathleen. “Falling Back on Plan B: The Children of the Gender Revolution Face Uncharted Territory.” Family in Transition. 16th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2011. 102-116. Print.
Jackson, Robert M. “Destined for Equality.” Family In Transition. 16th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2011. 87-95. Print.
Morse, Jane. “Women’s Rights in the United States.” America.gov Archive. U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs, 26 Feb. 2007. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
In Jackson’s, Destined for Equality, he explains the transition women went through in order to gain their equality. He goes through history to show how they accomplished this. He explains how Karl Marx argued inequality took away from the social order. Many men gain high official jobs therefore it seems like women cannot gain those types of jobs too. Throughout all the years men have had a dominant role in everything. In politics, the household, high positions for jobs, military positions, etc. With equality, now women have majority, if not all, rights a man could do. Jackson explains, “Women were identified with the household and maintenance of family life. Men were associated with income- generating employment and public life” (Jackson, 91). During 1890-1940, women’s rights continued to get better. Women would be able to go to college. Movies and media were portraying women as strong, smart, professional, and driven. Jackson explains how still today equality is sometimes there or not, “Today stands somewhere between extreme inequality and complete equality” (Jackson, 94). In Falling Back on Plan B, by Gerson, she explains many struggles throughout a family and how it affects their children. “About a third reported growing up in a stable hoe, while a quarter concluded that their families grew more supportive as time passed” (Gerson, 104). Everything parents do affect their child’s life. When couples are faced with busy schedules and not focusing on their household, it hurts their marriage. Women get jobs because they need a plan for themselves if something happened to their marriage. But men are faced with different challenges. They feel pressure to be successful for their family and be the “bread makers”. Families change overtime. For example, in the early 1900s, women never had jobs. The idea of women back then cooked, cleaned, took care of the family, and her husband. But now, many women have jobs and majority of a women’s income supports her family. Even men have taken the role of staying at home to take care for his children today. This is impacting my generation because this may be how it is when I get older and start to have children myself. It is possible that in the future, all mothers will have jobs and it is unusual to see a stay at home mom.
Women’s rights throughout history:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=5196
Discussion question:
Jackson says that today’s equality, “stands somewhere between extreme inequality and complete equality”. Do you think he is correct?
In Robert Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality”, the author discusses how women have finally been able to achieve status that is equal to men. After being considered inferior for what seems to be all of time, women not only now able to obtain the same status as men, but it is also something that can be considered desirable and is not looked down upon. However, the author has cited that women still have some work left but their goal is within reach. Women are still under represented in the political sphere and that the glass ceiling has yet to be completely shattered. Women often do take on more costs during a divorce, rape is still a concern and women can still be portrayed as objects within the media.(Jackson 87-95)
Kathleen Gerson discusses in her article, that the next generation of children that will soon be parents are going to face challenges that will put them in unchartered waters. The “traditional” family that has existed for so long, where the man works, and the mother stays at home to look after the children is beginning to change. Women now seek similar financial opportunities that men have had, and they have become much more independent. Both young men and women may have to rely on a fall back plan if their hopes and aspirations are not fully met. Men may try to seek out the more traditional role of the family because of their dual desire to find success and be there for their wife and family. Women, on the other hand, may seek for self-reliance and will look to continuously separate themselves from the traditional family role. (Gerson 102-113)
Over the past 100 years women’s rights have steadily improved. In 1919 states began to give women the right to vote. In 1976, Nebraska became the first state making ti illegal for a husband to rape his wife. (Info please)
Do you believe that the traditional family will soon be a thing of the past in the United States?
Works Cited
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline2.html
“Family in Transition) Gearson and Jackson 87-95, 102-113
In Jackson’s article “Destined for Equality” talks about the inequality in genders in our society. Women have faced cruel inequality in the past from men. Men believe that woman were never going to be equal to men, and women should be at home, where they are suppose to be taking care of the family, “women’s subordination seemed likely to grow worse as they remained attached to the household while in business and politics became a separate, distinctively masculine, realm.” (Jackson 87) Jackson‘s article covered the injustice that women faced in society. He talked about how “women struggled to improve their status and many men resisted those efforts, institutional changes haltingly, often imperceptibly, but persistently undermined gender inequality” (Jackson 88). He pointed out that the change in women status in society happened when men “seeking to further their own interests, launched institutional changes that eventually reduced the discrimination against women.” (Jackson 89). In overall women did eventually over the decades and centuries received better rights, rights that women a century ago did not have, such as voting rights and job positions opened up to women. However, even to this day women still see much inequality because of gender, it has improved tremendously but we have not reached the standards the men stand today.
Women’s rights have made tremendous improvements the last few decades; one such improvement was in “1960s through 1980s which saw major changes in the status of working women. Legal barriers to gender-based employment and pay discrimination were eliminated. By 1970, occupational segregation by gender began to fall substantially for the first time since at least the turn of the century.” (http://monthlyreview.org/2006/07/01/women-and-class-what-has-happened-in-forty-years). It was an important time period for Women in the country, they fought for gender based employment and pay discrimination to be eliminated, women before this time were paid poorly, and always making less than the male class that worked the same job. Women we often not hired at jobs based on their gender. Although women were not equally paid the same as men, women receive better earning making by “59 cents an hour to every dollar earned by a man in 1964, but 77 cents per hour in 2004” (http://monthlyreview.org/2006/07/01/women-and-class-what-has-happened-in-forty-years).
Another right that women persistently fought for long before they tried to eliminate the employment was the right to actually have a profession in 1919 “The legal profession was opened to women” (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_landmark.htm). Women early in 1900s were given the chance to work in a profession of their choosing, at that time there was not many professions open to women, but it slowly developed over the years.
A third right that women fought for that followed closely to the one above was “Women over 21 were given the right to vote – giving women the same voting status as men” (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/women_landmark.htm) by 1928. With this given step, woman slowly made their way into politics, in the world that was only reserve for ‘men’. Women were believe to be not intelligent enough to vote or to be included in politics. Since the women were given the right to vote, women have dominated in voting for politics it has been said that “Women, who constitute more than half the population, have cast between four and seven million more votes than men in recent elections. In every presidential election since 1980, the proportion [of] female adults who voted has exceeded the proportion of made adults who voted. In 2004, 60.1% of women and 56.3% of men voted.” (http://womensissues.about.com/od/thepoliticalarena/a/GenderVoting.htm)
In addition to these improvements over the years women rate in getting a higher education has increased. The view of women getting an education has changed over the decades and with women legally being able to declare a profession more women have dedicated themselves to education. “Nationally, the male/female ratio on campus today is 43/57, a reversal from the late 1960s and well beyond the nearly even splits of the mid-1970s.” (http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-10-19-male-college-cover_x.htm).
Women leadership roles have also improve over the year in politics. “Women hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, State Legislatures are only 24% women, and Of the 89 women serving in the 112th US Congress, 24 or 27% are women of color” (http://www.wcffoundation.org/pages/research/women-in-politics-statistics.html). This si a tremendous amount of progress in the United States, compared to a few decades ago where very few to no women held any position in office. However, USA lags behind to many countries, in this section.
In Gerson article “Falling Back on Plan B: The children of the Gender revolution face Uncharted Territory” talks about the struggle children of this generation will be facing as they become older and start a family. Many want “lasting marriage that allows them to blend home and work in flexible, egalitarian way” (Gerson 103). However is becoming less and less seen in the world where couples have stayed together. Bothe men and Women are “concerned about the difficulty of finding a reliable and egalitarian partner to help the integrate work with family caretaking, most women see work as essential to their own and their children’s survival, whether or not they marry” (Gerson 103). Gerson talks about the different roots that these men and women would need to take to survive through tough time and be able to keep their family together “by letting go of rigid patterns that once narrowly defined women’s and men’s “proper” places in the family and the wider world, all kinds of families were able to overcome unexpected challenges and create more financially stable and emotionally supportive homes” (Gerson 112)
Work Citation
“Landmark Years for Women’s Rights.” History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Brenner, Mark, and Stephanie Luce. “Women and Class: What Has Happened in Forty Years? :: Monthly Review.” Monthly Review, An Independent Socialist Magazine. Monthly Review, 23 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
Lowen, Linda. “Who’s More Likely to Vote, Women or Men? Gender Differences in Voter Turnout – More Women Vote Than Men.” Women’s Issues – All About Women’s Issues. About.com, 19 June 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. .
Marklein, Mary B. “USATODAY.com – College Gender Gap Widens: 57% Are Women.” News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World – USATODAY.com. USAToday, 19 Oct. 2005. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. .
“Women in Politics Statistics.” Foundation Home. WCF Foundation. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. .
Skolnick, Arlene S., and Jerome H. Skolnick. Family Transition. 16th ed. Boston: Allens & Bacon, 2011. Print.
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Changing Gender Roles and Family Forms | Sociology of the Family
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Changing Gender Roles and Family Forms | Sociology of the Family