It is typically thought that in a family, the man is the breadwinner. This makes men appear more important and enables them to be dominant and hold more power in a relationship. According to Gamble & Gamble, “the image of the male as the provider is supported by our experiences in everyday life” (27). Social feminists, who believe women’s primary source of oppression is their economic dependence on a husband, would have issues with this (405).
With the current state of the economy, job lay-offs are affecting more than just checkbooks, they are affecting men’s egos. The article in the New York Times, Why Lay Offs Can Be Sharper For Men, Jonathan Steuer, a man who was recently laid off from his job, talks about his biggest issue with it is facing that he no longer is bringing home the bread for his family. The issue is not that his family is struggling from, but that he no longer is the provider. His wife, a columnist at The Jewish Daily Forward said, “it is impossible not to absorb the cultural message that the man is supposed to provide for his family.”
To a social feminist this would be seen as a large issue. Social feminist want equality for women, but also want the same for men. For that to be the case, society should not place the responsibility of being a provider on men. For men and women to be truly equal there can be no underlying expectations of the role either sex should play in society. The article also refers to ‘his’ and ‘her’ layoffs. Making a distinction of gender in this case implies one is different than the other. With our societal norm of men being providers this indicated a ‘his’ layoff is more serious. It is not fair to make this distinction as a women who was laid off could have been the provider for the family because of a higher paying job or the husband being a stay at home dad. The claim that women do not suffer as much mentally or lose self esteem from a layoff is an unfair assumption. As with a man, a woman just as easily could feel pride and an attachment to her work.
Seligson, H (january, 31, 2009). Why the sting of layoffs can be sharper for men. NYTimes, Retrieved May, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/jobs/01layoff.html?_r=1&ref=health
Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2003). The Gender Communication Connection. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company
