“The history of American women is about the fight for
freedom, but it’s less a war against oppressive men than a struggle to
straighten out… perpetually mixed message about women’s role that was accepted
by almost everybody of both genders.”[1]
Collins uses the example of Southern Matriarchs who acted helpless and womanly,
yet were capable enough to run plantations while their men were gone. Collins
points out even daughters sometimes had to help with tending cattle and
cultivating tobacco, etc.[2] This passage
got me thinking about how gender roles are taught in the home. I have two sons
and a daughter and I tell them girls can do anything boys can do. However, actions
speak louder than words. When my daughter was climbing a tree yesterday, her
dad kept telling her to be careful and get down while he didn’t say a word to
her twin brother, who was also climbing a tree. Also, in twelve years of
marriage, my husband has NEVER cleaned the toilet and alternatively, I have
NEVER mowed the lawn. Gender roles are still evident and many of the same
attitudes exist today, that were prevalent in American history.
