| At least since the Industrial
Revolution, gender roles have been in a state of transition. As a result,
cultural scripts about marriage have undergone change. One of the more
obvious{{U}} (31) {{/U}}has occurred in the roles that women{{U}}
(32) {{/U}}. Women have moved into the world of work and have become adept
at meeting expectations in that arena,{{U}} (33) {{/U}}maintaining
their family rules of nurturing and creating a(n){{U}} (34) {{/U}}that
is a haven for all family members.{{U}} (35) {{/U}}many women
experience strain from trying to "do it all," they often enjoy the increased{{U}}
(36) {{/U}}that can result from playing multiple roles. As women's
roles have changed, changing expectations about men's roles have become more{{U}}
(37) {{/U}}. Many men are relinquishing their major responsibility{{U}}
(38) {{/U}}the family provider. Probably the most significant change
in men's roles, however, is in the emotional{{U}} (39) {{/U}}of family
life. Men are increasingly{{U}} (40) {{/U}}to meet the emotional needs
of their families,{{U}} (41) {{/U}}their wives. In fact, expectations about the emotional domain of marriage have become more significant for marriage in general. Research on{{U}} (42) {{/U}}marriage has changed over recent decades points to the increasing importance of the emotional side of the relationships and the importance of sharing in the "emotion work"{{U}} (43) {{/U}}to nourish marriages and other family relationships. Men and women want to experience marriages that are interdependent,{{U}} (44) {{/U}}both partners nurture each other, attend and respond to each other, and encourage and promote each other. We are thus seeing marriages in which men's and women's roles are becoming increasingly more{{U}} (45) {{/U}}. |