Carly Jensen- Parenthood

While watching and listening to the presentations on parenthood I could not help but think about my own parents and how I personally envision parenthood. Personally I grew up with two working parents and did not have the “traditional” stay at home mother. But like many of the presenters when envisioning myself as a parent, I saw a more traditional picture. As a child it was not until I was older that I realized that is was different my mother worked full time and my father worked a more flexible schedule.  This ideology that stay at home mother is normal, is defiantly influenced by the media. In the presentations I felt it was interesting that a majority of the presenters picture the idyllic and tradition “white picket fence” image of parenthood, despite growing up with different realities. Josie’s astonishment of her dream really highlights the fact that personal ideals are extremely influenced by the media and the images presented through mainstream culture. Even though she understood that the perfect traditional family is unrealistic, she still admitted to picturing parenthood this way.

As a child I never once wished my mother was more “traditional” but as I grew up I started to realize that she was different. I remember as a child watching movies and television shows and imaging what it might be like to have a mother at home all the time. I think Brooke made an important point that motherhood is glorified in the media, especially through celebrities. The media is reinforcing the idea that having a child is part of being a female, and a dream come true.  The fact that major pop culture magazines focus on mother’s and the “magic” that comes with having a child, creates the ideal that being a mother is normal for a women. In addition to featuring stories about new mothers, these magazines are constantly printing articles about celebrities who don’t have children and how their lives are incomplete. This glorification and intense media attention is not equal. New fathers and single men are not the subject of such stories or speculation. This imbalance creates the idea that women are supposed to be mothers, and fathers are just along for the ride. Ellie made an important point that while mothers take on the parental and supportive role, fathers are supposed to be providers. This can be compared to the assumption that women are the default parent and men are just supposed to help, or as Jenn called it fatherhood is a pastime and motherhood is a full time job. Parenthood and the roles of a mother versus a father are completely derived from the media. The images on television, in movies, advertisements, and magazines are what controls how society envisions parenthood, not personal experience.