The Sociology of Sex Roles

The sex roles or our society have been changing from the dawn of time. What society feels to be acceptable in the eyes of the sexes, has changed due to media, the times, technological advances, and what a society as a whole feels necessary to survive and prosper. In the U.S, the sex roles have changed from what was perceived as acceptable in the 1950's, to the present day America. Society shifted from a family oriented way of thinking, to a more liberal, loose fitting definition of family.

In the 1950's, the U.S went through major shifts in the various sex roles held by both men and women. With the war going on, and the sudden decrease of men in and around the work force, women were called upon to do, what was once thought to be only work acceptable for a man to uphold. The once ever-popular ideal and role of the woman as a housewife, was socially changed to cater to the sudden loss of the main workforce, which in the 1950's prior to the war, was predominantly male. Once the war was over and the men began to once again flood the work force, society suddenly made it inappropriate for women to hold the jobs they once did. Through propaganda the women were brought out of the original housewife mode and into the work place, and through propaganda, the women were placed back in their homes.

Prior to the war, the woman's place was in the home. Her job was to be the housewife, mother and devoted wife, while the husband's job was to make the money and provide for his family. "Women in the work field" was not thought to be appropriate. The middle classes in the U.S, strived to be socially acceptable, and along those thoughts, it was the middle classes that were fed the information through media, to establish the social norms. As see...

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...n area. The youth is able to see both male and female handling similar, if not like, jobs, as well as taking responsibility for the family duties. The woman's role is no longer confined to the home an in the society today, it is finally possible for the women to come home to her husband.

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