Paper Summary:

This paper argues that the appropriation of new technologies has had a great impact on the changing face of the female gender role. The paper uses the arguments presented by Ruth Schwartz Cowan in her article, "More Work For Mother" as a starting point to discuss domestic technologies from the early twentieth century to those of today. The paper also refers to an article and book written by Christine Frederick (1883-1970), one of the earliest women to merge the public sphere of business and the private sphere of the home as well as other scholarly articles dealing with the domestic sphere. The paper concludes that the literature demonstrates that, in the beginning bearing children was practically the main occupation of women, but as time progressed and medical advancements were made, this duty, instead of being an addition to a woman's resume, remains a headliner. Living in the 21st century most Americans no longer fully support the idea that we should divide labor by gender but the belief that women, not men, are primarily responsible for the care of the home is still not uncommon.

From the Paper:

"In today's society being a homemaker has in many ways returned to what it originally was. Housewives of the 21st century are often of the middle to upper-middle class, enjoying nannies and maids. Those who aren't in this economic division but are sill homemakers also may rely on much of what Christine Frederick so strongly preached about, scientific home management. With busy schedules and constant activities housewives of today have a lot on their "to-do" lists. What I am finding as I begin to enter the career world is that there is a great divide between women who choose to stay at home and women who choose to pursue careers. It has now become a statement of self worth as if women who remain in domestic arenas have let down the grand progressive movements of feminist. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Berg, A.-J., 1994. Technological flexibility: bringing gender into technology (or is it the other way around)?. In: Cockburn, C. and Furst-Dilic, R., Editors, 1994. Bringing Technology Home: Gender and Technology in a Changing Europe, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, pp. 94-110.
• Cawson, A., Haddon, L. and Miles, I., 1995. The Shape of Things to Consume: Delivering IT into the Home. , Avebury, Aldershot.
• Chung, Chin-Wan, Web and Communication Technologies and Internet-Related Social Issues. Springer. HSI2003
• Cowan, Ruth Schwartz, "More Work for Mother." New York. Basic Books,Inc., Publishers, c1983.
• Frederick, Christine, a. "New Housekeeping," Ladies' Home Journal, 13 September, 20 October, 19 November, and 16 December 1912. Reprinted in The New Housekeeping. Efficiency Studies in House Management (Garden City and New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1926), 3-22, 181-203.

Visitors who viewed this Persuasive Essay also liked these:

• Persuasive Essay # 105071 : "Gender and Technology"
• Term Paper # 134524 : "Gendered Careers and the Role of Technology"
• Research Paper # 106995 : "Gender and Career Choices"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: