Być żoną i matką – opiekunką domowego ogniska? Rola rodzinna w wyobrażeniach młodych kobiet
To be a wife and a mother – guardian of hearth and home? The family role in the consciousness of young women

Summary/Abstract: Gender is a crucial factor which is diversifying social expectations as to the filling of specific social roles. Some social activities are being assigned to the woman, others for the man. Femininity is strongly related to motherhood, masculinity is expressed through the professional and economic status. Especially in Polish society, being a wife, and most of all being a mother who takes care of home and family, gives women a high social prestige. The stereotype of “Polish Mother”, sacrificing for her children, the exemplary housewife is still firmly entrenched within the social consciousness.This can be seen by analyzing the results of researches about the model of the family. Preferences in this regard are slowly moving away from patriarchal relations evolving towards a more egalitarian relationship. More and more people expresses appreciation for the partnership model, in which a woman and a man are involved in the family and professional issues to a similar extent. If we talk about the predominant actual model, that shows real family life in Poland, often the traditional model is practiced (the woman takes care of the family, the man performs the professional role) and the disproportionately female model (the woman takes care of the family and performs a professional role, the man performs only a professional role). In this situation it is worth while seeing how young women are going to perform family roles. How important is it for them to be wife, mother – guardian of hearth and home? Is performing the roles of marriage and parenting more important than career? Which model of the family would they like to perform in the future?

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