It’s funny how society presents to us on our TV’s all these different types of “housewives” that are a part of these reality shows. It only depicts negative and inappropriate actions, behaviors and attitudes of women only to glorify their aggressive and dysfunctional personalities within their relationships and towards other women on the show. I don’t find these shows entertaining. I think it makes women look bad since back in the day real housewives took pride in their role of maintaining the family, cleaning the house and cooking meals instead of what these women on TV do which is to fight, bully and bash everyone of their successes and lifestyle. 

Women have been struggling with their role as a housewife and a mother which at first seemed like the dream of many women but in reality there is a problem. In reading “Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan, there is this sense of unhappiness that comes from women who have become committed to this housewife lifestyle of material comfort and not working outside the home but constantly in charge of housework, child-rearing, and cooking. The old fashioned way of living for a housewife also consisted of women not being involved in any career, higher education, and politics. Little did they know that what they were taught was wrong for truly feminine women because the dream for many women back then is different than that of today. The importance of having a higher education, pursuing in a career, getting involved in politics and working to make ends meet has an impact on women to help us grow smarter and mentally stronger and independent through a patriarchal society that made it seem like we couldn’t equally share the rights and opportunities that gender and some cultural roles expected of us. Friedan mentioned “It is ridiculous to tell girls to keep quiet when they enter a new field, or an old one, so the men will not notice they are there. In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens. It would be a great service to tell girls who plan to work in society to expect this subtle, uncomfortable discrimination- tell them not to be quiet, and hope it will go away, but fight it. A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex, but neither should she”adjust” to prejudice and discrimination” (Freidan). This means that girls and women are not being valued, recognized and empowered for their abilities to work in the same environment and circumstances as men who are a part of the same profession because women are still not being treated as fully equal to men rather in competition. I feel like society’s negative stereotypes work to make females shy away from environments such as the workplace which prevents them from becoming successful on their own. A woman’s ability to perform a task and have the true skills for it should not be compared to her sex and role in society. 

In the second reading “The Politics of Housework” by Pat Mainardi which distinguishes the life of liberated women and the life of the housewife where one focuses on her sex life and career and the other focuses on her marriage, home and kids. Mainardi also shared her personal experiences with her husband on how housework between men and women are fulfilled differently within the household. Of course it’s easy to say that both sexes should equally put in the same effort and work when it comes to keeping the house clean however, Mainardi’s problem was that once her husband tried doing all the things she would do he made excuses about it as he related it to his masculinity. Traditional gender roles are continuously changing especially for women ever since they’ve gained their rights and strived for liberation to be freed from oppression and male patriarchy. Sadira’s snapshot states “I don’t need rights – I have a kitchen” which is more or less what society during the late 19th century expected of women to believe since their only occupation is set as a housewife while their husbands worked away from home and depended on their wives to cook and clean.   

Lastly, in reading “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm” by Anne Koedt, it is expressed how there is a misconception on women’s sexuality and desires. The sexual anatomy of a female consists of the vagina but the clitoris is the main center for sexual pleasure. Koedt wanted to educate and inform both men and women when it comes to sexual interactions and pleasing each other’s desires correctly and equally come to a climax. The clitoris and penis are compared in which they similarly serve as the receptors of pleasure. It is important that women aren’t left “frigid” and unsatisfied when engaging in sexual intercourse with men who aren’t familiar with the way their body works and how it may psychologically affect women.