As the doorbell rang, mum was mopping the floor

by Natalia Brucciamonti

Look carefully at the woman holding the mop. Who do you think the lady is? Was your answer “the mother”? Well, then you would probably find the following lines interesting.

In recent years, it is possible to recognize a breakdown of the traditional family, where the man is the one who works and the woman stays at home looking after their children. Nowadays, women not only sweep the floor and look after the kids, but they also get degrees and have excellent jobs. The role of women has changed considerably. However, stereotypes and gender role discrimination still exists. The book “As the Doorbell Rang”, by Pat Hutchins, is a clear example of it.

Sociologists explain that gender roles are a social construct and that they are based on physical differences upon men and women. As men have physical advantages over women and the latest have a biological capacity for reproduction and child bearing, in the past, the woman was supposed to do domestic labor while the man was supposed to work outside to provide the family with the necessary food, clothes, etc. In the book, there’s a very clear example of this. The mother is in the kitchen, mopping the floor and baking cookies for their children. It isn’t possible to see a male character (one who isn’t a child) cooking or cleaning the house.

Researchers of gender roles also argue that there is a hierarchy inside gender distinction. This means that if you are a man, you have more power or social acceptance if you are more experienced in the work you perform. The same happens among women. If they are older, they are thought to be better. An instance of this is the character of the grandmother. Throughout the pages you can read “nobody makes cookies like Grandma”. This assertion implies that no matter what a good cook the mother is, her cookies aren’t (and won’t be) as tasty as the ones of the most experienced woman.

Although we are aware of the changes produced in the roles that people perform, it’s still very difficult to de-internalize the obsolete stereotypes that we were taught as socially correct. This is the reason why contemporary writers like Hutchins still show on their books the stereotypes which they have been brought up with.