Hi and welcome to my blog. I really think parents need to lighten up; I mean, if parenting was meant to be a serious endeavor they'd offer classes! Oh, wait....
RSS

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

1950's Gender Roles in the Modern Era, Part 1


     I'm taking a break from my usually slated housework to pen this post. (I usually write after the kids go to bed.) You see most days, after home schooling the boys in the morning, I have a couple of hours of house cleaning, followed by between two to four loads of laundry. Then it's time to pick Myriam up from school, make snacks and then get dinner prepped, cooked and served. After that it's time to get kids ready for bed. Does any of this sound familiar? If you are a SAHM this is probably your everyday reality. And even though it's all so very "June Cleaver" I didn't have a problem with it, until yesterday afternoon that is.


     Yesterday was Sunday and Daylight Savings Time, Fuck it all to hell! which meant that the Hubby and I had stayed up late the night before, just like any other Saturday night, BUT we lost an hour of much needed sleep in order to ensure that the kids would make it to Sunday school. After Church I started on my normal Sunday chore list; I planned meals for the next two weeks, did the grocery shopping, (At 3 different stores! It's the only way to keep the food budget under $400 a month for all of us.) started my requisite 3 loads of laundry and by two o'clock I was ready for a nap! (I don't know how June managed to do all this in a pair heals!)
     But as we all know, there is no nap for the Mommy because Papa came to visit. And while the children showed Papa this or that toy, Papa commented on how clean Myriam's room was.

     Me: "Yeah, she does a good job keeping it clean."
     Papa: "SHE cleans her room?"
     Me: "Yup. Makes her bed and everything."
     Papa: "Wow! You should teach the boys that trick."
     Porter: "We don't have to clean our room...."
     Logan: "Yeah. Mommy, or Nana or Myriam will clean it for us."

     And that was the moment that I realized we had a problem. I don't know how it happened. How the hell did I raise two little chauvinistic demons that assume there will always be a woman around to clean up after them? Well, I promptly woke the Hubby up from his nap on the couch, to ask him the same question. Where did we go wrong? Because these are not the kind of men I want to send out into the world!
     I admit that I do the vast majority of the housework. I'm a SAHM! It's kinda my job. But it worries me that by being a SAHM, my children are picking up some crazy 1950's ideas about what a woman's role in the home is. This isn't first time that I've "heard" things from my sons' mouths that I didn't really like. Like the time that Logan was playing with the toy vacuum cleaner and said, "I'm being Mommy. I love to vacuum!" Love isn't really the term I would use. When I said that everyone can vacuum, not just Mommies. Logan told me that Daddies don't vacuum. Hmm....
     Somehow, without intending to, I've taught Myriam that girls clean up after everyone (I've caught her picking up after the boys and I've never discouraged it because let's face it, any help at all around here is appreciated.) and the boys have learned that there will always be a girl around to take care of them. I guess the real question is what are we going to do about it? And the answer is, I don't know. But I'm determined to figure it out!

Suggestions would be appreciated....

To be continued....

Check out the series!
Part 2


Peace Out!
Photobucket

Networks and Associations

Women Online
Business 2 BloggerBlogWithIntegrity.com blog links
Family directoryFamily Blogs
Best Blogs
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
All images and written work, found herein, is the sole property of Rebecca Burton and may not be used in any capacity without express written consent.