I Don't Care If You Pop a Waffle

When a wife walks into the kitchen, is it expected that she will start eating her husband's meal or grab the pots and start cooking?

Judy Brady satirizes the characterization of women extremely well, she says, "I want a wife who cooks the meals, a wife who is a good cook. I want a wife to go along when our family takes a vacation so that someone can continue to care for me and my children when I need a rest and change of scene." In Brady's "I Want a Wife" and SNL's Superbowl parody, the immoral issues within traditional gender expectations still held to this day are brought to attention. It leads us to wonder: has the expectation of a wife stooped so low that your wife is your servant? So what if your wife can't cook and only knows how to place Eggo waffles in a toaster? (while maintaining a nutritious diet)

I delved deeper by considering the gender roles of couples in various cultures. In general, domestic gender roles are not as prevalent as the past. Particularly in Western culture, males cooking in the house and taking paternity leave are more common and preached for in society. However, traditional gender roles are still encompassed in many cultural traditions around the world. I took a search online, and in a Nigerian sermon, a pastor said, "don't marry a woman who can't cook" and "don't marry a man with no job." It sucks to see how societal roles depress our attitudes and morality. We lose confidence, both male and female. We have the pressure of meeting those goals. We've created the ideal partner from our not only our personal values but also our societal and cultural influences. This specific dream, we desire someone who fits that. It seems that it's then portrayed as if you want love, you need to be a certain career and have certain talents. We should all be able to follow our dreams, whether that is to be a stay-at-home parent or to be a leading scientist at the university lab.

To set another example, there are two common phrases in Chinese culture for the ideal Chinese partner. For men, it is “高富帅" (Gao Fu Shuai), meaning "tall, rich, and handsome." For women, it is "白富美” (Bai Fu Mei), meaning “white rich pretty." In the eyes of the Chinese, appearance and wealth are integral. Buying a $2.99 box of Eggo Thick & Fluffy Waffles from Target really isn't going to cut it here. Unfortunately, similar to other cultures, Chinese culture pressures people to look a certain way and implicates that wealthier people are more likely to find love.

In conclusion, while most of us know that these traditional gender roles are overrated societal archetypes, its presence still lingers in our minds, influencing our decisions and attitudes toward this topic. After reading this piece by Judy Brady, watching the SNL parody, and considering current gender bias in cultures, I feel that we are severely tarnishing human character, especially women's character. By implicating gender bias, we are reducing self-confidence.

So now, let's change up Brady's piece. I want a wife who is empowered and believes strongly in her work. I want a wife who believes in love and works with me so that we can take breaks when needed and do what we enjoy in life.


Life deserves to be enjoyable, so if that's popping two waffles in the toaster, then let that be it.