The value of equality
Today psychologists as well as ordinary people continue arguing about gender roles in society and in families. These disputes prove the fact that, in the majority of families things are in a bad way and people want to work out a set of responsibilities for men and women which could be effective for modern way of life and which would take into account all changes in economy and traditions that have occurred over a period of post-industrial era. Patriarchal way of life no longer suits modern women, as their functions have changed greatly. Nowadays women are not only busy with household chores, they also earn money, make career, take up positions, etc. They demand reconsideration of their household responsibilities and want their husbands to help them more about the house. Besides, men are no longer hunters and simply breadwinners, many of them fulfil mental work and though they come home tired and exhausted, it doesn't mean that they are unable to wash dishes or clean their room.
Men in turn, especially if they earn much more money, than their wives demand respect and appropriate attitude to them. They value their earned money very much as they earn them by means of breaking stones and they are dissatisfied with too light-hearted attitude of their wives to their income. Women think that they have an exclusive right to use money as they want, because they know better, what is more important for themselves, their children and household. Men take offence when they find out that serious buying is made without their participation or appreciation.
As you see there are many reasons for arguments and quarrels in families, and each person feels him/herself an offended party. An offended party means infringement of one's interests and encroachment of one's rights. That is why men and women haven't come to a single way of allocation of their responsibilities. This situation is aggravated by the fact that women don't know for sure what they want form their husbands and men don't know for sure what they want from their wives. What do women want from their husbands? They want them to be dutiful and independent simultaneously, they want them to be busy and be ready to help at any moment at once, to be responsible for their families and not to object to their wives. They also want them to be sexual and indifferent to other women, etc.
What do men want from their wives? They want to find everything ready to their hands and want their wives not to get under their feet.
It is clear without any additional explanations that all these demands are impossible to implement these demands as they contradict each other. Besides, each party understands equality differently. It turns out that equality is an unachievable ideal way of family relations, the main aim of which harmony and happiness. Maybe it is better to make a start from these very aims and try to find ways for their implementation and not to make equality an end in itself!