In 1948, Margaret Mead wrote that American society over-rewarded male positions. Female envy of that role, "reflects an overvaluation of men's achievments and a devaluation of the significance of the female role as wife and mother."
When the home is undervalued, "women will cease to enjoy being women, and men will cease to value women."
By this argument, one way to encourage misogyny is to undervalue housewives. Two questions come to mind:
1) Do women, on the whole, seem happier or more depressed since these changes of valuation? (If you agree that men's achievments in the workforce have been overvalued.)
2) Does the devaluation of "women's roles" lead to misogyny? Do men seem to respect women more or less when running the household is seen as unimportant?
(quotes are from Mead's "Male and Female", pg. 85)
2007-06-26
06:36:19
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15 answers
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asked by
Junie
6