Brady's essay was written in the specific cultural context of 1971. Undoubtedly, many cultural changes have taken place since then, particularly changes in gender roles. However, one could also argue that much remains the same. In a blogpost of at least 7-10 thoughtful sentences, compare the stereotypical role of a wife now with the role Brady defines. In addition to your own observations and experiences, consider contemporary images of wives that the media present -- for instance, in television advertising, dramas or sitcoms.
In A Real "Wife" Brady identifies many stereotypical aspects of a wife. There are many similarities with the stereotypical wife now and the stereotypical wife in the 1970's. The major stereotypical role of wives today is laundry, cooking and taking care of the kids. Women usually aren't portrayed to have a job, the men are supposed to be the adults supporting the family. In Brady's essay she makes much more specific distinctions with the activities your wife is supposed to do. In the media and on commercials usually the cooking and the cleaning products are advertised by women with aprons and a sponge for cleaning and a pan for cooking. Another similarity in the media is when parents pick up kids from soccer games or things like that, the typical "Soccer Mom." Even though the stereotypical wife isn't as specific as in the essay, most of the aspects are correct.
ReplyDeleteBrady describes a wife to be the one who does all of the work around the house, takes care of the family and does all the duties that are expected of her by her spouse. Now, the stereotypical role of the wife is to look good and still take care of the family as well as be able to cook and clean but not to the extent that Brady describes. There are so many commercials for makeup that lasts all day no matter what you do, so I think a lot of it is based on a wife's appearance. The better the wife looks automatically ups the status of the spouse in todays society. Wives, I think, are still expected to provide for the family in terms of care and food. In TV shows, usually the mother figure is the one who is setting the dinner table or putting the food on plates. The wife is also the one you see who is there for the children to help with their problems. The thing I think is different now than how it was back then is now the men or spouses in the family show more respect and gratitude towards their wives. They treat them better and realize all the things they do and try their best to help.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of "wife" now is still stereotypical, but not as stereotypical as it was 40 years ago. Brady describes a wife as the person who does all the chores and house work. Back then, there were a lot more activities that were considered to be for women. For example, back then you didn't hear of a women working. Now, there are way more women working. Nowadays, in commercials, a wife is either doing laundry or washing the dishes or cooking. This is still stereotypical and offensive, not only to women but to some men too. There are many men, including me, that wash dishes, cook, or do laundry. I believe that chores are responsibilities that everybody has, not just one gender. Brady says that she wants a wife that respects her sexual thoughts. There are plenty of men who respect women's sexual thoughts, and also, there are many men whose sexual thoughts are disrespected. Brady's definition of a wife is extreme compared to today's. In my opinion, a wife is just a woman or lady that is married to a spouse, and has responsibilities equal to the spouse. I also think that nowadays men respect their wives way more than back then, which might be a reason to why sexist stereotypes are decreasing.
ReplyDeleteSome parts of this essay are relevant, while some aren't. Woman still seem to be the spouse that stereotypically and most commonly takes care of the children, however, more and more woman are working and climbing the corporate ladder. The author also mentions divorce and that the wife is expected to "take the children and be solely responsible for them" even if it is against the wife's preferences. That would be nearly impossible now, especially if the wife wasn't okay with it, because nearly all divorce settlements specify that the woman needs child support. However, woman are still portrayed as the person who cleans the house. Men are rarely seen in any sort of advertisement for cleaning products. Women are still portrayed in the media as the spouse who cooks: consider the fact that the majority of cooking shows feature woman as the chef. So while some aspects of this essay were only true forty years ago, some are still realistic today.
ReplyDeleteI think that the stereotypical role of a wife hasn't changed much in the past forty years; it has just become less blatant. A man saying that is wife needs to to all the work around the house might be seen as sexist and disrespectful these days, while that would be more normal forty years ago. Still, I think that people generally think of the female as the one who cleans the house and cares for the children and the male as the one who provides the money for the family, even though it is getting more common for things to be the other way around. People may say that these roles are less relevant these days because of TV shows about stay-at-home dads, but in most other shows, the husband is the one who works. And every show with a stay-at-home dad that I can think of is based on those gender roles being flipped, proving that having the wife work and the dad taking care of the house is still thought of as odd.
ReplyDeleteThe sixties and late seventies marked a turning point for many people, women included. The suffragettes had obtained voting rights decades before, and had successfully over come many legal barriers, but years later, a second wave of feminists marked the movement for female empowerment. The second generation feminists focused on working and military rights, women's sexuality, and, because it was closely linked with the hippie-movement, feminists put a lot of effort into disrupting the stereotypical idea of family and gender roles. The female stereotype of the sixties and seventies was a wife and mother, dedicated entirely to her husband, children and home. If she was particularly pro-active, she might be involved in charities or the church. In that time, it was hard for women, especially those who were married, to hold any sort of life deviating from that listed above, so the steryotype seems to make perfect sense. Now, we are living in an entirely different millennium and women, with the exception of birth control and abortion legislation, are allowed access to anything and everything men are. They hold the same jobs and do the same work, and yet miraculously, the stereotypical wife and mother of two-thousand twelve is exactly the same as it was in the nineteen seventies. Many people look at commercials and the media today and find fault in the fact that the portrayal of women has barely changed in the last forty years, but when I look at the actual population of women in America, and see how much they are able to do, and how far they have come, the fact that artists and writers are going back to an older stereotype seems to me a mute point that is inconsequential compared to the actual success of women in America today.
ReplyDeleteIn order to identify the current stereotype of a wife, one must first recognize that unlike in previous decades, this stereotype now exists as many. Instead of there being simply one idea of the perfect wife, there are now many, labelled as subcategories of society. There is the Suburban Soccer Mom, who gave up a career to stay home with his children and devote her life to them. The 50s-esque Housewife, whose greatest pleasure is to take care of others while presenting herself as timeless perfection. The Career Woman, who balances both her family and her success. These are just a few examples of how we view wives today. (These particular examples I drew from Desperate Housewives, a satirical example of the Typical Wife.) One could actually argue that for once, female gender roles have taken the lead in improving. Isn't the definition of progression expansion, the way we have expanded the role of the wife to be? Meanwhile the husband is stuck between two titles: The Working Husband and The Non-Working Husband. I think we've gotten to where we need to in this area of society. The only thing left is for society to recognize it.
ReplyDeleteIn this current time period, the role of a stereotypical "wife" exists, but it is less applicable to every individual family. Pretty much the same stereotypes are used now for wives as they were when "I Want a Wife" was written. Wives now are still classified in many of the same ways, but they are classified less openly. Now, the inequalities between men and women are most definitely reduced, but the role of the wife is still used and evidence of this is the overused phrase "stay at home mom." There may be double-standards in individual families, but there aren't any stereotypical standards that might be found in every family. Women in general are definitely portrayed as the primary caretaker of the household and of children, but maybe this is because the fact is that there are just more women in that role of care taking and cleaning. You can never really know which came first, the stereotype/portrayal or the reality. Either way, now there is definitely an altered, if not completely different, view of the role of a "wife."
ReplyDeleteI think that Brady's "I Want a Wife" presents an exaggerated version of a stereotypical wife. This essay would have been more relevant forty or fifty years ago, and although still has some aspects of a stereotypical wife, it is less of what people think of when they envision a wife. I think that a stereotypical wife is still expected to care for the children, but the house chores are to a lesser degree. The stereotypical husband is expected to help around the house, and is also given more credit than the story gives them. This story relates with television shows filmed in the late '50s and early '60s. In shows such as "Leave It to Beaver", the wife stays at home and provides for the two boys, keeps the house tidy, and does all other household chores. In addition, she supports her husband and basically does whatever he wishes. In more modern tv shows, such as "Grey's Anatomy", both female and males are lead roles that have a high paying, full-time job. Many of the women have a husband and children at home. I think that tv shows have an impact on wives by encouraging them to pursue their dream, and that it is possible to be successful, as well as to be a good wife and mother to their family. I think that the portrayal of women has become so much more powerful than it was when this story was written, and that few people would agree that this story conveys a typical modern-day wife.
ReplyDeleteIn “I Want A Wife,” Brady writes about the role of the wife in the household and the many duties she must do. The story was written in 1971, which is more than forty years ago. I don’t think that the role of a wife has changed that much, but rather the role of a husband and the husband’s expectation of a woman has changed. I don’t think this story is necessarily exaggerated in regards to today’s time period, but rather shows the extremes of this wife’s role in a house now. Also, the role of a wife presently is not exactly the same because of diverseness in families and the fact that this essay is not everyone’s exact reality. The stereotypes in this story though, are still enforced today in the media, in commercials, advertisements, etc. For example, in some car commercials directed at families, the man is seen coming home in this said car to his wife and kids after a long day at work. In advertisement about children’s food like apple sauce, or a drink that might boost their health, it is usually the mother that is seen talking about why that particular food is healthy for her child, and how much she loves and nurtures her child by knowing this information and giving the child this particular food or drink. I think that today the main thing that has changed is that men are more sensitive and caring to women, and that fathers are more connected to their children then what is shown in “I Want A Wife.”
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "I Want A Wife," women are portrayed very similarly to how they are seen today, which is quite surprising since over 40 years have passed since this story was written. The wife in the story is responsible for taking care of typical house chores and the children while the husband is away at school or work. In modern times, this remains a common division of American responsibility: the husband holds a steady job while the wife works at home. Although sometimes unfair, this is usually an effective way of separating required tasks among two individuals. Women tend to be more caring and nurturing, which makes wives much better at caring for younger children. The main difference is the aspect of divorce. When the story was written, women were expected to take the children in a divorce and let the man move on with another woman. From a contemporary standpoint, the children are typically tossed around in between the 2 parents like footballs. Fathers tend to be more reluctant to allow their children to be completely possessed by the mother, so they set up visiting times. Overall, aside from divorce scenarios, the wife stereotype has stood the test of time, and remained almost entirely the same.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story “I Want A Wife” is still relevant today. I think that we have made progress since then, too. Many if the jobs mentioned in the essay are still jobs people expect a wife to do, or at least expect them to know how to do. For example, it is considered stranger to hear of a stay-at-home dad than a stay-at-home mom. Also, men are still considered the leaders of society—we’ve never had a female president. On the flip side, women now do many of the jobs that men do, and vice versa. Movies and T.V. shows that feature dads who take care of their kids (Guys With Kids, What to Expect When You’re Expecting) have become popular, and more and more women are gaining high-profile jobs. But for the most part, a woman who can’t cook or do laundry is regarded as a bad choice in a wife. People still expect women to do these things today.
ReplyDeleteI think that the stereotypical views of a wife in “I Want a Wife” have changed over time, but new ones have appeared. Some have also changed, an example being that while most women were not likely to go to work back then, you see more and more climbing the corporate ladder. With that said though, a lot of wives are expected to clean the house, do the dishes, care for the kids and feed everyone. In the media, especially on TV you see in shows that have families in them, the wife does most of the housework while the husband is off working or something else. There are also new stereotypes that wives have to live up to. One for example is how they look. The prettier the wife is, the higher up in society she will be. Again, this stereotype has been enforced through media especially with TV. In shows or movies, the woman is always the weak pretty one while the man is the strong fighter. Another thing that has changed since then is that men seem to respect their wives more now. Women are treated less like objects that are just supposed to clean and care than like actual human beings.
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ReplyDeleteTyler Russell
ReplyDeleteThe short story "I Want a Wife", wives are portrayed very negatively. They are seen as robotic creatures that are supposed to do everything around the house without complaining. They are also portrayed as things that have no desire for personal freedom and whose only purpose is to serve her spouse. I think that there are certainly some things that have changed from the way Brady portrays wives but there are also things that have stayed the same. One thing that is different is that women work at jobs and it is becoming more and more common where women work and men stay at home with the kids. Another thing that I think is different is that women have more control of the relationship that they have with their husband. Like the ability to have a divorce which really isn't an option in the way Brady portrays wives. One thing that I think that has stayed the same is that a large percentage of women still stay at home and clean. One thing that I think is different today than Brady's portrayal of wives is that wives aren't just these creatures that do whatever their spouse wants, they give input and dictate things that happen which is something that Brady's portrayal lacks even a hint of.
Though much has changed since 1971, when “I Want a Wife” was written, I still think the stereotypical role for women is very similar. The idea that it is a wife’s job to cook, clean, and take care of the children is still widely spread, especially in more rural areas. I do believe, however, that some things have changed and this role isn’t quite so rigid. Now many more women go to work, meaning a paid job, but most wives still take on the stereotypical jobs that were originally their sole responsibility. I would say that most images of wives in the media are fairly stereotypical and may contribute to keeping the ideas alive. Often times in the media the wife will be the one taking care of the kids and making sure the household is running smoothly. One reason that some of these stereotypes remain is that people are uneducated on these issues and don’t think about how there are different expectations of wives than of husbands, or if they do, they believe that’s how things are meant to be.
ReplyDeleteI think that the stereotypical role of a woman in a household in the 70's is quite similar to the role today yet, at the same time more and more women are breaking the stereotype. Some things that have not changed for women are caring for children, mending and washing clothes, cooking with a few exceptions i.e. grilling and so forth but, men are able to help out with these roles more and more without being considered "a pushover." I realize that wearing an apron with flowers and lace on it while cooking (as a man) or having immense muscles (as a woman) and doing all the heavy lifting in a household, might be considered "backwards" by today's standards but, that is just part of the way roles are switching.A show called "I Love Lucy" which aired in the 50's portrayed a woman who did pretty much everything Brady describes in "I want a wife" and she never seemed tiered, even though this example is from before the 70's it just goes to show how things didn't really change too much. I saw a commercial for a new Swiffer wet jet mom in which the woman was cleaning the house and apparently the mop made everything go by 2X faster and she said something along the lines of "wow, now I have time to drink this coffee on the porch!" Even if commercials don't portraying new changes,it's pretty easy to spot role switches in everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the other responses that although much is different now than it was in 1971, this topic is certainly still very relevant. The idea of a wife staying home while her husband works, taking care of the children, taking care of her husband, organizing the family, and cleaning is still present today. It is especially present in the media, where most wives are presented as having these qualities. In many families, the husband is still the main source of income, as he probably was in most families in 1971. However, the role of a wife has changed since 1971. In 1971, there were not necessarily as many job opportunities for females in society as there are now. The increase in job opportunities for females has shifted the role of females in society somewhat significantly. Also, much was going on regarding women's rights in 1971 - 1971 was the year in which the idea of Women's Equality Day, the day commemorating the granting of women to vote, was introduced to Congress. In conclusion, although there are some differences between how things were in 1971 and how they are now, many things are still the same.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe the essay has the same relevance today as it had in 1971. In 1971 women were still thought off as the type of person Brady describes, a house wife who's only job is to make life easier on her husband. Now however, women are not only able to get jobs but the majority of women now work. It is not expected any more for women to stay at home. It is expected for them to get jobs and help provide for their family. Despite the lessened relevance, there are some points that I agree are relevant today. I agree that women do have a lot of work and what they do sometimes goes unappreciated, not only by the husband but also by their employers not giving women raises or promotions. So even though women are more respected by their husbands today, the basic idea of unappreciated work still lingers for women. To sum it up, I believe though women's jobs are a lot different from in 1971 the notion of lessened regard for the women labor in america still exists.
ReplyDeleteI think that in “I want a wife” Brady said many things that are still true and just a few that aren’t true anymore. I think that it tells a lot about our society that in 40 years we really haven't changed our social structor much. One of the main things that is still true and stereotypical is that wife's do laundry and take care of the family by doing things like cooking. One thing that is different is that wife's have started to have jobs and support the family while some dads are stay at home dads and do what the wife is “supposed” to do. Also women are almost in every cleaning commercial that I can think of except Mr. Clean. Something that stuck out to me in commercials is how women are always the people driving around kids to soccer practices just like it said in the story. I think that somethings are different from the essay but not a lot. I just think that in todays society its just toned down.
ReplyDeleteIn the 1970’s many women were thought to be stay at home moms, with the duties to take care of the family and house. While, the women you see in the magazines today have the perfect body, hair, or make up; many women have jobs and stand by the aid of the spouse to take care of the house and children. If you turn on the TV now a days you will most likely see a women advertising some way to become “perfect”. While, all woman would like achieve perfection, as Judy Bruck describes in her essay, woman serve as a role to take care of the children’s social life, their education and friends. Also, on TV you would see the women making the meals or cleaning the house, but I think the main change from the late 70’s to now is that the spouses have more of a duty to serve to the woman to help them in their daily lives.
ReplyDeleteIn the essay “I want a Wife”, being a wife is portrayed as being a servant, and giving up your personal life for your spouse. Judy Brady talks about wanting a wife to wait on her, have everything ready for her when she gets home from school, giving up a personal life for her, but to never ask for anything in return. Although Judy Brady wrote this essay nearly forty years ago, many of the hardshis described still exist today. Women are still expected to stay at home with children, to clean and cook for their husbands. This seems impossible because of the society we live in today, but women are still expected to wait on their husbands, but not as much as the story describes. The differences in the society today, I believe, have to do with the complete sense of control men have over their wives that was shown in “I Want a Wife”. This does not seem as apparent as shown. I agree with Judy Brady that wives are still put in the confines of marriage, but one thing I think has changed also is the way in which women go to work. No longer do the majority of women stay at home, and not got to work, so I think this view of always being at home has changed.
ReplyDeleteI think the role of women has changed drastically sense 1971. In the time period that Brady describes, women are basically house slaves and have to do exactly what their husbands say. In our time period, women are pretty much free to do what ever they want if they put their mind to it. I don't really think there is a demeaning image of what a women should be like in the media today. In most of the TV shows I have seen, women are almost always smart and don't let men get the best pf them. I do think there is a demeaning image of women in the media about how all women need to be pretty to be worth anything. That is something that is very hard to ignore and I find to be very annoying, but that topic is for another day. :)
ReplyDeleteIn the early 1970s many viewed the role of a wife as a stay at home mom who did all the house work, while the male went off to work and provided for the family financially. Through all women's rights movements, that stereotypical view of a wife has not completely changed, in my opinion. Brady describes the role of wife as someone who takes care for the kids and cleans up the house, sort of like a servant or a maid. Nowadays people dont see the role that exaggerated but that level of expectations is still there. Today you won't find many stay at home dads, you will mostly find stay at home moms. Whether it is because of the wifely role they play or maybe it is due to the fact that housework is one of those things women do better then men. In the world now, women have been given more oppurtunities then ever before to follow their dreams and become what and who they want to be, yet the media may still see them as houseworkers. In tide, swiffer, and bounty advertiements, women all play the lead role as the one who cleans up the mess. This shows that the streotypical view of wives is still there just not as explicit. While Brady's definition of a wife may be very much exaggerated, that certain view of what wives are supposed to do is still around today, not as obvious, but still there.
ReplyDeleteThe stereotypical role of a wife today and the one Brady defines is not different at all. Though I believe many cultural changes have taken place since then, a lot of the stereotypical wife roles have not changed such as cleaning, cooking, and always being appealing to their partner. From birth to death, women in a patriarchal society are shaped to be a “wife” so when they get married they just subconsciously slip into the role which is why most women today are comfortable with the “wifely” duties Brady describe. During the first 6-9 years of a a typical woman’s life, she is bombarded with cooking sets that train her to be comfortable in the kitchen, baby dolls that help her learn how to care for children, and nail polishes and lip glosses which teach her the importance of looking “pretty”. When she starts school she is taught women should always be put on a stepstool because of common scenarios that take place in school: boys are often told “girls goes first” when lining up, boys are obligated to hold the door for girls,and when something heavy needs to be lifted in the classroom the teacher only ask the boys to lift it even if a girl is apparently stronger than a boy. Around the pre-teen/teen years she is pressured to be attractive to the opposite sex which is why 50% of 9 - 15 year old girls have exercised and/or restricted their calories to lose weight to lose weight. When she hits puberty she is taught her body is inherently sexual so she cannot show certain parts of her body no matter what is the purpose without being called promiscuous or “loose”. When she becomes a young adult , the magazines directed towards her female peers , such as Cosmopolitan, have headlines that make it seem as if the sole purpose of sex is to pleasure the man. When she becomes older most commercials that target her will be pertinent to cleaning, cooking , and being conventionally beautiful which convey that the role to be a stereotypical wife is natural. Because of these societal pressures that women face, I don’t think the role of a stereotypical wife has significantly changed at all.
ReplyDeleteBrady's definition of a wife is exactly what the traditional wife is supposed to do. The wife was supposed to take care of things in the house, such as the cleaning, cooking, taking care of the kids. Whereas the husband was supposed to have a job and provide for the wife and the children. This essay was sort of biased, because it only emphasized the roles of the wife, when husbands have roles they are supposed to fill as well. The traditional roles of husband and wife have altered a lot since 1971, however. With the Women's Right's Movements wives were "allowed" to have jobs more often, and not take care of household duties. In most households nowadays, the wife and husband both of a job and if they have kids they go to school or have a nanny keep up with them. On the internet, however, progress is still much slower. People will state that "Women belong in the kitchen" as a joke, or demand that women make them a sandwich. Outside of the internet Brady's definition of a wife is a little too old, it reflects pre-Women's Right's era ideas of wives, but on the internet Brady's idea of a wife still stands the same.
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