Though now, 40% of women say they are the primary source of income in their household, women still generally make less than that of men.

Women are paid 75% cents to the dollare compared to men. The positions in the workforce held by women are less valued then the positions held by men, and therefore paid less. Why does the value of a job decrease when held by a woman? How far have we really come?

They interviewed a family, the wife/mother, the breadwinner and the stay at home dad. Is the idea of the breadwinning female so off the wall that we have to have an episode of 60 Minutes on it, only because a man is involved on the opposite end? Many families are headed by single mothers, forced to become the primary source of income for many reasons we may not know, but the media tends to overlook it all the time.

It seems the media only sheds light on something that up and coming when it invovles the feelings and reactions of a man. This goes back to the norms of our society being male identified, centered, and dominated (yet, another thought for a future blog).

I found this video on the MSNB News, and watching it made me think twice about the wage gap, the glass ceiling, and the other concepts we discussed in our Women Studies Calss.

The media puts our the idea that we have come so far from the 1950's, but really, we should ask ourselves the question, How far have we really come? When watching this show, we like to think that we have moved extremely far from the days of June Cleaver, when it comes to the Women's Movement, with the right to vote, and equal opportunity in the workplace. Yet, the idea of the female breadwinner or breadwinning wife still scares many of us. Even other women. Why?
These "alpha women" being interviewed on the show, speak abou the problems of essentially being the main source of income in the family household. Because men are socialized for the most part in our society, that being a "real man" means bring home the bacon, this also brings to light the role of the crisis of masculinity in our society (but that can be dicussed in a later blog), and how it has shaped our ideologies, from the household to the workplace. Men amy have a problem with the women making more, strictly due to the ideologies that have developed in our society.
If being the "alpha woman" means giving up other "important" aspects of life, what can young girls use as a model that can be seen as parallel to living the typical American Dream. Maybe the idea or the typical standards of the American Dream, needs to broaden, but its hasn't really changed at all. How can being the "alpha woman" be seen as a good and okay persona to take on, by youg women in our society? Generally speaking young girls still have the tendency to seek safety and security in a man, instead of looking for it in the opportunity for success in the workplace. We still strive for that white picket fence of the typical American Middle Class Dream, so again, How far have we really come?

CAN THEY HAVE IT ALL?

HOW FAR HAVE WE REALLY COME???

The Alpha Woman