Josephine Bingler's Response to Parenthood in Media

      After doing my own research, presentation, and hearing the others on parenthood in the media, I will forever view media and advertising with a much more critical eye. Not only does media constantly enforce gender norms and ideals but it also paints the picture of the “traditional” family and enforces the role of the mother vs father. For instance, my search for an image of motherhood was easy. I knew where to look and that was at cleaning commercials. Almost all cleaning products are geared towards women. Not only are they geared towards women, but they also paint such a false picture of housework as fun, easy, and enjoyable. They all show women happily cleaning their house or scrubbing toilets IN HEELS. The portrayal of women and mothers in media is NOT the reality. Brooke took a very interesting look at the covers of People magazine. Celebrities were seen posing with their new babies as if they were trophies. The mothers were being celebrated and looked peaceful, gorgeous, and beaming as they graced the cover. Some of the headlines read “She is my miracle” and “She saved me”. This reinforces the idea of motherhood as magical and wonderful. However, fatherhood is not being created  as an ideal for men as it is for women. In fact, men are excused from housework and always assumed to be out working in the public sphere. Media propels women into motherhood by making it seem right, natural, and beautiful; while ignoring the downsides of motherhood. What about childbirth, the weight gain, the exhaustion, and the dirtiness of it all? By media always depicting the woman in the house and with the children, it allows men to absent. When dads do appear, they are usually tossing the ball with their kids or taking them out to a sporting event. When this image appears, the dads are praised. For example, whenever Obama is seen with his kids, all of America lets out one big "awww" and wants to pat Obama on the back for being such a great and involved dad. Don't get me wrong, both sides face huge amounts of pressure. Thanks to media and our society, men are expected to be the breadwinner for the family. The fate of the family's wellbeing rests of the father's shoulders. But the mother's responsibility is to make sure the family is healthy and the house is clean. In commercials, moms are ALWAYS cleaning or giving doses of medicine to the sick child. The two types of pressure are very different but the division of labor remains clear in the household.