gender roles

A look at the evolution of gender roles, from Leave It to Beaver, paternity leave, female breadwinners and more.

If a Boy Doesn't Like You, You Still Have to Like Yourself
To the girl who's reading this. I know you. Hell, I am you. You are the girl that swipes right on Tinder hoping you will come across that one guy who will say he isn't just looking for some "fun." You're the girl who believes what these guys tell you. Whether they tell you that you're the most "beautiful girl they have ever seen" or that they would "love to wake up to those green eyes in the morning."
By Amanda Gabrielle7 years ago in Viva
The Number One Thing We Need to Stop Teaching Little Girls...
When I was a little girl, I was always confused by the directions given to me by my parents, grandparents, and other elder family members.
By Reigning Women7 years ago in Viva
Mansplaining to Men
A heated conversation in a bustling city pub inspired me to write this article. I'm fed up of explaining to other men my views on feminism. Too many men see the ever common discussions on sexism and women's rights as an attack on their masculinity. But this simply isn't the case.
By Michael Writes7 years ago in Viva
Sexism: Reality or Fiction?
You've heard the saying, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." This statement holds true in the sports arena when it comes to the differences between male and female athletes. In today’s world, female athletes are learning the hard way that even if they train harder than their male counterparts and out-perform them, they will still not receive the same recognition or money that the guys make.
By Joseline Burns7 years ago in Viva
'The Story of an Hour'
The Story of an Hour is a short story published by Kate Chopin in 1800s. The story is set on the protagonist, Louis Mallard and her marriage with Brently Mallard that shapes much of the story later on. The story unfolds after Louis hears about the death of her husband in a train accident. She is informed of this tragic news by her sister, Josephine. Upon hearing this, Louis is devastated and promptly rushes upstairs to her room where she locks herself up. Louise takes a seat and watches out an open window. She sees trees, smells drawing nearer rain, and hears a seller shouting out what he's offering. She hears somebody singing and also the hints of sparrows, and there are fleecy white mists in the sky. She is youthful, with lines around her eyes. As yet crying, she looks into the separation. She feels uneasy and tries to smother the building feelings inside of her, yet can't. She starts rehashing the word "free" to herself again and again. Her heart thumps rapidly, and she feels warm.
By Daveline Mompoint7 years ago in Viva
American Woman as Wage Earner
The test for whether or not you can hold a job should not be the arrangement of your chromosomes. ~Bella Abzug The U.S. Department of Labor reports that women made up 46 percent of the workforce in 2006. 60 percent of America’s women were employed either full time (75 percent of working women) or part-time (25 percent). Of 136.5 million women in the labor force, over 30 million of them (22 percent) are employed within the service industry (kitchen work, food prep, waitresses, maids, janitors, etc). It is projected that women will account for 51 percent of the "total labor force growth" between 2004 and 2014. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, in 2006, women were earning an average of 80.6 cents for every dollar her male counterpart brought home. In middle school, when the teacher asked what we wanted to be, I didn’t hear one little girl say she dreamt of a career in the service industry.
By Matthew Evans7 years ago in Viva
A Woman Is...
What does it mean to be a woman? There are many meanings, and different meanings depending on the woman. I have my own beliefs, which may or may not be the same as another person's, but here they are.
By Denise Willis7 years ago in Viva
Why Dating Is Expensive for Women and How to Save Money
There's a perception that most of the expenses involved with dating rest on the man's shoulders. Couples do "go Dutch" when it comes to settling bills, but traditional attitudes persist, with men insisting on paying for meals, taxi rides, concert tickets, and so on. At least during the early stages, after connecting on matchmaking service or in some more conventional social setting. But the business of dating is actually so much more expensive for the woman. They can't just spend 15 minutes getting trimmed at the barber, shower, throw on a shirt and trousers, and then turn up.
By Jonathan Draper7 years ago in Viva
What Does It Mean to Be a Woman?
Nowadays thanks to the World Wide Web anyone, much like the good Generation Z-er I am, has an endless black hole of knowledge right at our fingertips wherever we are in the world. Whether one may think it’s a good or a bad thing, there’s simply no hiding from it. When trying to conceive an answer for what it means to be a woman, I trusted my handy pal Google to help me out. Much to my lack of surprise, the results were nothing to shake your tail feather at. It’s easy to find the few recurring blogs from singular perspectives or an array of online articles. Each piece is found to be discussing stereotypes, hormones, psychology, or biology. How IS it that such an intricate and varied group of powerful people are condensed into fitting sterile categories? These categories with little to no mention of what lies beneath these things? Brushed under a rug to be left as nothing but a list of certain criteria and criticisms. Is being a woman really chalked up to being only a superficial idea? I stumbled across a question that had no definitive answer; a question that I realized is nearly absent from our current world conversations.
By Natalie Santana7 years ago in Viva
What Does it Mean to Be Me?
To be a woman seems to have a lot of preconceived notions. We are strong. We are weak. We can do anything. We are limited. We are only meant for the common man. We are meant for ourselves. 2018 showed the world that women were going to start standing up for themselves, but it also showed that women can be more emotional and difficult to understand.
By Leja Naranjo7 years ago in Viva
Oppression of Women in First World Countries
I recently had a bit of a debate with someone online—because that never happens—about whether or not oppression of women still exists in first world countries, in particular, the United States. Unsurprisingly, the individual with whom this conversation occurred was a man. Also unsurprisingly, the entire thing started over a joke poll meme involving how women would react if a freak event caused men to start menstruating—either cackle or offer to help. Don’t ask.
By Holly Paine7 years ago in Viva
Sunscreen Enables the Patriarchy
My brothers were rarely asked to wash the dishes, or cook dinner, or tend to the garden. I thought about this as I pulled up weeds in the flower bed next to Momma, my pink gloves covered in dirt. Whining, I asked her what the point was. Her answer was redundant; I’d heard variations of it my whole life. Hun, sometimes you have to do things you don’t wanna do. Or, It’s not about the flowers, it’s about the work. It wasn’t the work I minded, though. It was the bias of it. The fact that my brothers were down at my dad’s shop, washing cars. I eyed the unhealthy flowers that sagged despondently, as if reflecting my attitude about taming the wild plants around them.
By Sam Puett7 years ago in Viva