Blog 4: Patriarchal Norms Still Shape Family Care

As this country is climbing closer to an election many people are voicing their opinions on what they think the presidential candidates should discuss. Here, Nancy Folbre has expressed her opinion on how the general household should be taken care of, traditionally or modern style. Folbre notes that it is easy to find many examples of patriarchal societies and that many Americans are willing to keep the tradition of father head households. At the Southern Baptist Convention, it was stated that "a wife should "graciously submit" to her husband's leadership." The Mormon church holds similar views of wife submission and imposes even stricter curbs on women's access to positions of spiritual leadership. Southern Baptist and Mormons are not the only two religious groups in the United States that embrace patriarchal values. Traditional patriarchal systems restrict women's legal and economic rights. Even in countries like the United States, in which women enjoy virtually equal opportunities outside the home, patriarchal norms assign them primary responsibility for family care. Many women enjoy new economic opportunities, sometimes gaining the confidence to flout traditional gender norms. Folbre writes that "maybe we should try to end patriarchal norms instead. We could start by defining family care as a challenging and important achievement for everyone rather than a sacred obligation for women alone."

As I read Folbre's article I noticed that not only did Folbre talk about and issue, she proposed an idea, a possible solution. Instead of making family care an obligation for women alone, society should redefine family care, making it a responsibility for both parental parties. I am noticing more and more norms that are labeled strictly as "mother" and "father" roles in society. These norms happen to be based off of tradition but in today's world more and more women are branching out and are taking on some of the roles traditionally taken on by men. In the United States, still a patriarchal society, women are branching out and are not only home care takers anymore but now work in industries, offices, and even in government affairs. With this movement of women into the work force and into politics the general society of the U.S. is changing and could become more of a combined effort in the home from the father and mother. As the general roles may be changing in the United States, many women world wide still live under patriarchal conditions. Many women have grown up with the idea that the father is the head of the family and has final say in decisions. The women in the U.S. are fortunate to have some say in decisions but clearly feel they do not have enough if women are still writing articles on the importance of women's values and roles in society.



http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/women-should-take-care-of-home-and-family/