When you think of the picture-perfect family, what comes to mind? Is it a mother and father where the father makes an income while the mother is at home? Or is it the realistic family that either both parents work hard for an income or the mother is taking on more the aspects of being the provider and the father is the housewife? Even though times have changed and women are starting to be the breadwinners and responsibilities for men and women are flip-flopping. Then why does the media still portray this perfect housewife image that the mother stays home, cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kids? Or the father is works twenty-four seven and when he is not working he at the gym or doing "manly" things like working on a car and getting all dirty? The media is presenting an image of our lifestyles that each male and female are supposed to live up to throughout their daily lives. Not just appearance, but everyday responsibilities have been "genderized," as to who is supposed to do the yard work, or cook, or even clean. Commercials and print advertisements, especially cleaning and food advertisements, are using stereotypical images to portray specific gender roles and responsibilities in the media toward men and women. .
There was a time when women needed to stay home and cook, clean, and take care of the children. Now that we are in the twenty- first century that is not the case anymore. Men and women's responsibilities in their daily life are actually switching. More women are going back to work and making more of the family income, sometimes even more than the average male in the workforce. Since women are increasingly becoming head of the household, the men are starting to become stay-at-home fathers or even a "mannys." A manny is a male who takes on the job as a full time nanny, who cooks, cleans, and babysits. But the media does not seem to notice the change in our society today and seemingly is not making the transition.
