FEMININITY IN QUESTION: ARE TRADITIONAL FEMALE ROLES RELEVANT TO ME?

The past century has witnessed a dramatic shift in the role women play in families, as the paradigm of woman as housekeeper, mother, and supportive spouse has been complicated by economic turmoil, social change, and the growing women’s rights movement.  Increasingly, women opt to pursue careers and personal development instead of or in addition to family life; juggling so many responsibilities can present challenges not encountered by previous generations.

In the February 19, 2012 LIFE Spa event “Femininities in Question: Are Traditional Female Roles Relevant to Me?”, seventeen participants discussed various models of women’s family roles with the intent of determining what responsibilities each participant wants to adopt in her own family.  From a larger discussion on typical female family functions, small group discussions personalized the experience through questions such as “How did you come to your current role?” and “How can you be more fulfilled in your role?”

“Femininities in Question” is the first of a series of LIFE Spa events focusing on women in relation to family, building upon the earlier personal development-oriented meetings.  As in previous events, the February 19 event sought to empower participants by helping them gain a better understanding of their own experiences and beliefs through self-reflective activities and discussion.  Upon the basis of conscious awareness of the roles she plays in her family and the roles she wants to play, a woman can take active and deliberate steps to reduce the discrepancy between her own personal ideal and her reality.  Ending the discussion with a series of action steps gave women some tools to continue reflecting and to start making changes in their lives.

The women in attendance responded enthusiastically to the topic, and appreciated the multigenerational nature of the small discussion groups.  Participants found the discussion so invigorating that the event went 30 minutes long in order to incorporate more discussion time. 

SAVE THE DATE: On Sunday, March 18 LIFE Spa will continue the conversation on women’s roles in the family, but will focus on women’s expectations of the men in their families.  Titled “Femininities in Question, part II: What do Women Expect from Their Men?”, the event will explore women’s roles as revealed by their thoughts on men’s roles. It is our hope that the self-knowledge gained from an examination of the assumptions we make of the men in our families will empower women to make changes necessary for achieving more fulfilling family relationships.