I Spy With My Little Eye Summative Assignment

Jennifer Pagliaro

Ms. Mathura

September 26th, 2006

Topic: Family

Hypothesis

Gender roles in contemporary families are shifting.

Method

For my research I will gather my information in two different ways. First, I will gather data by observing family units who shop for groceries. From a covert position in the back of the store in a high traffic area, I will monitor what types of family units are shopping on a Sunday afternoon.

My second method will be a series of interview questions posed to different types of family units within my community. I will ask interviewees questions such as “Who takes the responsibility of buying groceries in your family?” to establish how the gender roles of today are shifting from traditional gender roles of the past.

Observation

For the first component of my research I went to Markham Sobeys at McCowan & Bur Oak on a Sunday afternoon, specifically 11-3pm. I set up for my observations in the back of the store at the end of the aisles. The area had a lot of shopper traffic which allowed me to conduct my research quickly and discreetly. The information was collected randomly. I recorded which types of family units passed by me as I saw them. I sorted each family unit into six categories: Single Male, Single Female, Single Male with Child/Children, Single Female with Child/Children, Family (Male & Female with Child/Children) and Couple (Male & Female). I defined child as being under 16 years of age to further define my research. Over the course of those four hours out of 150 family units I observed, 47 were Single Females, 50 were Single Males, 17 were Females with Child/Children, 15 were Males with Child/Children, 13 were Families, and 8 were Couples. (See Table 1)

Out of these observations I can gather that one third of the 150 people observed were Single Males and approximately another third was Single Females. In total singles in the grocery store made up for more that two thirds, more the 50% of the people observed. The other categories combined made up for the final third of the total people observed.

When asking male and females in different types of family units what they think about the shift in gender roles many are unsure. A single mom reports that it wasn’t so much a shift in gender roles as a necessity. Because she is living on her own with her daughter it is only her responsibility to pay for bills, buy groceries and provide for her family. She says that gender roles have definitely shifted, but that is a good thing because it “allows a family to delegate tasks based on ability rather than gender”. A single male also agrees that gender roles are changing, but they are also disappearing. In terms of men taking on more responsibility for family errands and organization he proves his point of disappearing gender roles by stating that, “It’s really just a stay at home parent. Anyone can do it.”

Conclusions

Through my observations it can be concluded that gender roles in contemporary families are clearly shifting. Females, viewed solely as the ‘child bearer’ or the ‘stay at home mom’ are clearly ideals of the past. Through my research it can be seen that everyday activities, such as grocery shopping, that were traditionally viewed as a female roles are no longer classified under that distinction. My research has proven that just as many men and in some cases, more men that women, are taking on roles that are not traditionally theirs. Women have always been viewed as the ‘caretaker’ of the children in a traditional family. As evidence in my observations show, men are now taking on the role of ‘caretaker’ as well. Men are coming into grocery stores with their children and shopping for food for the family just as often as women are.

As well, less and less families are doing activities together, even just grocery shopping together as more families once did. With the busy lifestyle of populated suburbia more and more families are finding it harder to spend time together as a whole. Not to mention the broken families, single parents and D.I.N.K.s which are becoming increasingly popular in our era. Clearly the gender roles in today’s families are nothing like those of the past.

The Social Sciences

Anthropologists would be very interested in this research because it directly affects the social institution of the family unit. Functionalists would be concerned with the issues raised in this research. Functionalists investigate the social functions of institutions, so in this case the social function of the family unit. Functionalists believe that society is a series of institutions that function in the best interests of the society. In this case Functionalists would be interested in why gender roles are shifting in contemporary families. Functionalists would attempt to understand why the responsibilities between men and women are becoming more equal. They might conclude that the reason for this gender shift in families is because of a need in society to be met. As women become more accepted in society and dominance of males decreases it becomes necessary for men and women to share responsibilities that were once purely female, such as grocery shopping.

Feminists of any discipline would also be interested in this topic because they are always arguing that society should be more welcoming of women. In this case I think feminists would encourage this shift in gender roles because it allows for a more equal balance between men and women. Feminists would look at the shift in gender roles as a necessary change to beat the systemic oppression of women who are viewed as ‘child bearers’. Feminists would show how this shift in gender roles in inevitable to the growth of our society.

Future Implications

Because it is clear that gender roles are already shifting, the only possible trend is that they will continue to do so. Men and women are dropping their stereotypes and relying on one another just to get things done. Traditional gender roles in the 21st century seem to be a thing of the past. Women are working instead of staying home, there is more stay at home dad’s there is less value emphasized on the ‘family unit’ and men are shopping for groceries with a newborn. With the lack of emphasis placed on stereotypical roles for men and women, the idea of the ‘family unit’ is losing some importance. As a result of shared responsibilities and the revolutionary new thinking about women’s role in the workplace less emphasis is placed on the importance of family as well. Implications of that are higher divorce rates, less children being born and the overall decomposition of the idea of ‘family’.

Bias

Although there was no bias in the way I collected my data survey, because I recorded whoever was in the store, there was bias because it was only one day of the week and only a small sample of people compared to the hundreds of people that enter the store everyday. Also, in my interview questions, each person has a bias on how they view gender roles in our society depending on who they are in society (male or female) and what type of family unit they are a part of. Despite the bias of the small samples the information is still reliable. The data and opinions collected show a sample of how gender roles are constantly changing. Already the sample data shows a clear difference that data that would have been collected a few years ago.

Another bias in my observations was I did not include a subcategory in my data collection for homosexual couples or family units that had same sex parents. As the laws and ideas of same sex marriage are slackening so are the traditional ideas of families consisting of one male and one female parent. I didn’t allow for this new category of the family unit in my observations.

Table 1

Single Male / Single Female / Single Male with Child/Children / Single Female with Child/Children / Family / Couple
50 / 47 / 15 / 17 / 13 / 8

Original Table