My Life Essay

Judy Brady made my confidence stronger about why I should remain a single mother. The narrator of the story in the essay is a chauvinist male who believes in the exploitation of women by their husbands. He believes that in a family relationship, all responsibilities towards children and husband should be carried out by the wife (Brady 12). He believes that the husband should not be responsible at all to the wife and children. Most of the ideas of the narrator in the essay are in sharp contrast with my personal view of gender.

One of my personal views of gender is that it should be defined by responsibilities and not by sex. The same view is expressed in the family relationships portrayed in the television series film titled Leave it to Beaver. In the film, the parents of the main actor, Beaver, are Ward and June. In their family relationship, they define gender based on how they share responsibilities but not simply in the terms of sex. For instance, both June and Ward take an active role in guiding and counseling Beaver and providing him with the basic necessities of life (Connelly and Mosher). However, the idea expressed in the film that the role of women should only be to take care of household responsibilities as the father works is in contrast with my idea of gender roles. Beaver’s mother stays at home to concentrate on household chores and bringing up children while Ward concentrates on work (Connelly and Mosher). I believe that in the modern society, the woman should not be fully restricted to work. Also, I am against the idea of exploitation of

women by husbands expressed by the father of a friend of Beaver called Larry Mondello. The father of Mondello is a business man that does not spare time to take care of his children and leaves all home responsibilities to his wife except supporting his family financially (Connelly and Mosher). I believe that both the husband and wife should share the responsibility. Last, I am against the negative view of the single parents by the societal members as expressed in the film. Single parenthood, in my view, is one of the modern families that should be accepted and respected.

Overall, I am confident with my status as a strong single parent. My ideas of gender have been built gradually from childhood to the present. My father and stepfather contributed in building my ideas of gender and how familial relationships should be. My encounters during adulthood have also shaped my perception of gender and gender roles. Some of the ideas expressed in the Leave it to Beaver film are similar to mine while others are not.

Works Cited

Brady, Judy. “Why I want a Wife.” Ms. Magazine, Inaugural issue. 1971, Pp, 12-14.

Connelly, Joe and Bob Mosher, writers. Leave it to Beaver. Gomalco Productions and Kayro Productions, 1957.