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Jasmine Rodriguez History P4 March 3, 2014 Singleton Gender roles in American History

Throughout the 1940s-1960s, similar American ideas about a persons role in society have surfaced. Many of which, have to do with the persons gender. Depending on your gender, many people claimed you had to follow a certain way of living. These gender roles, however, have changed noticeably over time, and will probably keep changing. A women's gender role has endured one of the most prominent changes in American society. Before the war, women were seen as obligated to nurture children and leave the breadwinning to the men. However as peoples minds have evolved, that idea has lost its significance. For example, a womans job outside of the house has gradually been seen as more acceptable throughout the years. In 1940, a study showed that Americans disapproved of married women working other than in the home by a ratio of 4:1, about 78 percent to 22 percent; By February 1986, that ratio had reversed: 4:1 now approved, about 77 percent to 22 percent. (Yankelovich) Peoples acceptance of women in charge and in higher authority has also grown, like the tolerability of a female president. A ratio of 2:1 of people said they would not vote for a woman in a 1940 poll; however a more recent study in 1990 said 7:1 of people would. (Yankelovich) As society changes, the acceptance of women in non-motherly roles has also changed. A females part in society is much more versatile today than it was a couple decades ago.

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A males gender role, although not as dramatically, has also changed. In older times, men were seen as the head of the home and were expected to leave the nurturing to the woman as they went off to work. Yet as more women worked, men were left with more time to do personal things. According to a recent US census, In 1960, fathers accounted for only about one in 10 single parents; In the past three years however, the number of single fathers with children at home have increased by 25 percent. (US census bureau) This means men over time have taken the mothers roles as well as the fathers. Now, it is more common for men to leave decisionmaking to the woman of the house, instead of taking it all themselves Many believe men have recently lost their role in the family, but losing and sharing are hardly the same concept. As womens roles grow more open, mens roles become less limiting. Although we have come a long way, there is still a lot that can be done. Womens rights are much better than they were in the 1940s, although they have not entirely reached 100 percent equality. Womens salaries, for example, still have not fully caught up to a mens salaries. Today, women earn about 65 to 80 percent of what a man earns. (Harvard) Sexism is also still very existent. Politics, Science, Media, and Education still tend to follow old concepts of gender roles and stereotypes. Men are also still not seen as equal to women when it comes to taking over their part in the family. In a recent survey, 51% of Americans told the Pew Research Center that children were better off if their mothers were at home; Only 8% said the same about fathers.(Reyes) They are also still heavily under the stereotype of having to be manly. One study at the University of South Florida, for example, found that college students rated hypothetical employees wanting flexible schedules as less masculine.(Reyes) Although it doesnt seem as bad compared to physical issues in woman equality, our societys way of thinking can make a tremendous amount of difference to our history. Luckily, American society has overcome

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many gender related issues before, and the only thing we can do now is improve. As time progresses, each sex faces their own problems, but hopefully also their own solutions. An important step to a countries success is equality, and although it might seem simple enough, achieving equality has a lot of important steps of its own. One of those steps is gender equality. From the 1940s to present day, gender roles have changed remarkably over time, and they will keep changing. Women and men have both underdone many role changes, although some things have stayed the same. Our job as American citizens is to make sure they keep changing, and for the best. As our society advances, so do our ideas and ideas ultimately make the biggest difference.