WOMEN TODAY
WOMEN TODAYAlthough America is an ever-changing country some things never change. Within many years women have fought through countess barriers yet haven’t gotten too far from the original stereotypes of them. The conventional gender identities shape women in present society, while creating a war within the women whether to be ideal feminine and motherly, or sophisticated corporate and selfish.
In present day society women work, take care of house and children. They go throw what seems to be an endless day. According to Allen in current times women “suffer from the societal conflicts caused by having to identify with two hopelessly opposed cultural definitions of women” (525) These two definitions are at a constant battle with each other and bring problems to the women fighting the battle. The primary conflict lies in what is the true identity of a typical women in our society. In the present time women are allowed to be aggressive, assertive, fight for what they believe in and are not afraid of men. This view is in a battle with the traditional values of women.
In the traditional white society women use to be very passive. Generation to generation they passed down different cultural traditions like in the article by Jamaica Kincaid “Girl”. this is the way you set a table for tea, this how you set a table for dinner”. Originally were brought up to be house wives and care takers. Their jobs were to clean, cook, do the laundry.” Wash the white clothes on Monday and put them on the stone heap; wash the color clothes on Tuesday and put them on the clothesline to dry:”
women had a lot of babies and had to take care of them. They couldn?t go anywhere without men. They had to dress a certain way and go to church on Sunday. A lot of women did not have any education, they couldn?t even read if they were from poor family.
In traditional society women were completely dependent on men.
The two different societies clash when women don?t know what role to take, whether to be passive or aggressive, to be feminine or do what they want. The traditions that women followed for many generations are still present in the typical 90?s women. Today you find women who do it all. They raise kids, advance their careers, take care of the house and spend time with the men in their lives, the powerful women in today societies fight a difficult war in trying to be happy with themselves, while pleasing the society which wants the feminine cultured women we were raised by and who have been the traditional standard to women for thousands of years.