Judy Syfers writes about gender roles in her article “Why I Want a Wife.” She describes some of the things a wife does, with a sense of humor. Syfers exaggerates the role of a wife by describing them similar to a servant. Although her writing is meant to be humorous, it brings up some true points. Gender roles have always been as issue throughout all of history. Before, women had lower paying jobs and were not given equal opportunities. Judy Syfers writes how the wife must be there whenever necessary, and must be loyal and faithful when a man does not have to be. Nowadays, gender roles are more equal than they used to be decades ago, but still being female has its downsides. 

About a month ago, I came across an advertisement for the company “Always.” In the video, young females, who have not yet gone through puberty, were asked to do run, kick, throw “like a girl.” These children all ran as fast as they could and followed the tasks to the best of their ability. The people filming the advertisement asked older males and females to complete the same tasks also “like a girl.” The older group did not run fast and they did not try when fighting. Later, when both groups were told that doing things “like a girl” should not mean anything negative, most of the participants tried again and ran their hardest.

Although this video does not describe gender roles the same way as Judy Syfers, it is related. The company “Always” is trying to show that girls are no worse than boys. Syfers sarcastically tries to make the same point. Being a wife should not mean that you have to do everything around the house, care for the children, cook food, clean, shop, and above all be faithful. All of these things can be done by men the same way.