3. discourage true empowerment for women. There are roles played out by the male and the female that have remained stable and consistent throughout all walks of life for most of our existence. When we study almost any species of being, we see distinctly different jobs carried out by each member of a family. While our text would cite otherwise, I still believe the practical aspects of gender is universal. There are exceptions to every rule in nature and every culture will vary in it’s beliefs and traditions, which would allow for the findings of Ms. Mead in her study of New Guinea. Our text does acknowledge that “men are favored in all of the world’s societies,” which would show the need for change. However, when we truly examine what it is the feminists are trying to accomplish, we can link the feminist movement to the disintegration of the family unit as it is known to be. The proper functioning of a family relies greatly on the division of responsibility. In general, most societies have relied on the male to take on the figure of authority, while the female would tend to the raising of the children and domestic matters. To some this might seem a repressive role for a woman to place herself in, yet it is her role that keeps the family intact. These role distinctions are rooted in biology and remain present and unchanged in almost all primitive societies. It is only our “sophisticated” way of life that has seen fit to make changes in the basic makeup of the family unit. When the feminist movement began, the woman’s role in her family was not conducive to achieving the goals the founders had envisioned for her. To the feminist, the idea of a weakened family life is inconsequential when compared to the great strides women have made in the world beyond her family. Many feminists are quick to abandon the natural and customary structure of a family in order to seek out what she believes to...
