A woman’s place is in the home - or is it?
Women’s roles are changing inevitably. From the beginning of time, women were expected to grow up, marry at a young age, become a wife, mother children, care for the home, and that is all that was anticipated and expected of them. If however, she insisted on an occupation or some sort of job, she had a choice of approximately one of two careers; either a nurse or teacher. Today, women are developing stronger qualifications, giving them greater opportunities in the workforce and are often more determined to be successful. Women today are starting a family at the age of roughly 29 years, over ten years later than the average 1930s woman, indicating the female drive to be independent and the desire to do well before they start their family. This sociological change is the product of many transformed concepts of gender roles, as well as movements such as the Feminism, Liberalism, Post Modernism and socialization. In regards to the nature nurture debate, the socially constructed idea of women being a ‘homemakers’ or housewives, is slowly becoming extinct and is being replaced with the ‘independent female’; a strong minded, career driven, business woman.
Socialization is ‘the process through which an individual learns the culture of a society and internalizes its norms, values and perspectives’ (Germov and Poole – 522). Due to these ‘norms’, women were expected to become homemakers and it was seen as almost forbidden or deviant if they happened to shy away from society’s expectations. The nature nurture debate closely identifies within this, as it reflects the influence of one’s genetic heritage and one’s social setting on their behaviour. Everyone is influenced by both, our genes and inherited characteristics, as well as our personality traits and experiences. But the undeniable question always come to the surface, does society’s values, ideas on gender roles, and our social environment shape one’s traits as well? This...