Gender Roles In Marriage

Marriage brings together two individuals who may differ in a thousand aspects but bond over a few common grounds. So, the chances of conflicts are many which are avoided by giving each a specific responsibility. Traditionally, the marriage was male dominated and the life of the wife revolved around the husband depending upon his every whim and fancy. Because women were a subjugated lot their role in marriage was also strictly defined. While the man was responsible for captaining the ship called family it was the wife who acted as the crew running and maintaining the ship. Then came women emancipation and women started to define their role in the marriage. The feminist movement after the 1990s was responsible for freeing women of their shackles and giving them a voice to air their concern. Thus the gender roles in the last decades saw a marked shift with women coming out of their houses and taking the job that was once the bastion of men. This won’t have been successful without the support of some of the men folk. These men too saw the irrationality of the patriarchal society where women had little say in any matters and so they relinquished their dominant status and came on equal footing with their partners. Thus in present times the gender roles in marriage have become more of sharing rather than commanding. However, it must be mentioned that in many cultures and societies the traditional gender role is still followed. Go through the rest of the article to know more on gender roles in marriage.

Changing Gender Roles in Marriage

Traditional Gender Role In Marriage

The husband is more educated than the wife. This is because it was believed that higher education was the priority of only the man. So only the husband receives proper education.
The workplace is the domain of the husband and women were deemed unimportant to play any role other than that of a homemaker. So, it was the husband who was the earner while the wife took care of the house and children. Because professional advancement was not favored for women the husband has a more dominant role in the marriage.
The husband is either unwanted or unwilling in household work and rearing children. All the responsibility of the house and children rests with the wife.
All household decisions regarding everything rest with the husband. He has the last say in any decision involving the family and it depends upon him to follow the advice of his wife or not. As such the husband played a very dominant role in the marriage.
In the education of their children the role of the husband was confined to paying the school fees. It is the wife who plays a greater role in educating their children.

Thus it can be concluded that traditional gender role was based on total segregation of the roles of the husband and wife. The husband took care of financial aspect while the wife took care of the day to day running of the house and hearth.

Modern Gender Role In Marriage

Both the husband and the wife have relatively equal education. Mostly they are raised in co-ed education system and so have received the same type of education.
The wife considers her career as important as her husband’s and this view is also shared and supported by her partner. So, both the husband and wife are equally employed. The success of such a marriage also depends on availability of equal professional opportunities for both the partners.
The husband and the wife both contribute to household work in equal measure. The husband also takes an active interest in the rearing of their children.
Neither the husband nor the wife is dominant in the marriage. And decisions are made by both the partners. In case any disagreement arises then they keep their present decision while working towards an agreeable solution.
Every aspect of marriage and family are shared equally by the husband and wife.

Modern gender role in marriage brings about an integration of the roles of the husband and wife. Here both of them contribute equally towards the finances and care of the house and upbringing of the children.

The article gender roles in marriage will enlighten you on the shift gender roles have taken in the last few decades.

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