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Essay / Changing Women's Roles - 1190
Honey, I'm at Home“Honey, I'm at Home” doesn't even have a sexual orientation today, but only 30 years ago it referred to the "breadwinner" (the man of the house) coming home after a long day of work greeting his wife. This idea of male domination is illustrated in the text Mirror on America, in the photo where the groom is holding his wife who is considerably shorter than him, showing a kind of domination of a man over a woman (63). We also see this in the photo where the man looks like he has just returned from a long day at work and is waiting for his wife to serve him dinner (62). Nowadays it's a little different: most women work full time and have to come home to clean and cook for their families. Unfortunately, things are almost exactly the same, if not more difficult for women, because now they not only have to cook and clean, but also work. Dave Barry, the author of the essay “The Ugly Truth about Beauty,” in the text Mirror on America believes that women are too concerned about their appearance. He suggests that women are never satisfied with their appearance, while all men "consider themselves to be average in appearance" (35). Women feel that they must strive to improve their appearance because society's image of "beauty" is far from the features of the average woman. The author conveys this message when talking about model Cindy Crawford giving makeup advice: Cindy was asking all these middle-aged women to apply cosmetics to their faces; she stressed how important it was to apply them in a certain way, using your fingertips. All the women did this conscientiously, even though it was obvious to any sane observer that no matter how carefully they applied these products, they would never remotely resemble Cindy Crawford, which is some sort of genetic mutation. (35)Unfortunately, everyone, even me, has been affected by society's view of beauty. I believe my view of “beauty” is very similar to that of most men. I believe that a person's beauty is easily enhanced by their personality. A person's character and personality are determined by their experience, background, and childhood. Children are greatly influenced by their environment as well as their role models, whether they are good or bad models. Women's insecurities about their appearance are due to their upbringing.