Harmony At Home

1. Harmony At Home

2. What We Really Miss About The 1950s Why is there such nostalgia for the 50s? Who were the 50s really bad for? Given what we know now, is it better to live in our disenchanted society or would the 50s really be better? How did family roles shift before the 50s and after? How does that affect our lives today? Was the idea of forced marriage and of forcibly staying married better than what we have now? How did identity change in the 50s? What was the function of TV in the 50s?

3. The Truly Invisible Hand How are we a tangible nation? Is this bad? Why? Why are we focused solely on money but we preach that it is the least important thing? Would it matter if a woman’s role as a mother counted as a job or not? How did we go from making money being bad to it being the most important thing? How does motherhood add to national wealth? What is human capital? Should we value people based off of this? Is it true that parents must make us ready to learn?

4. From Changing American Families How is marriage viewed differently in each class? Why does this matter? Is there any validity to the Moynihan Report? Is the middle class disappearing? What are the repercussions of this? To what extent is America defined by having a strong middle class? Once it’s gone (or small enough), will we no longer be viewed as the greatest country on earth (in terms of opportunity)?

5. “The Polygamists” and “My Husband’s Nine Wives” To what extent should the government be able to intervene in the way people choose to live their lives? Based on the two contrasting articles, is polygamy really a bad deal? Should the government really crack down on it? Why is this topic important for the next Presidential election?

6. Becoming Members of Society Is it true that we learn our gender from what we see? Does this mean that homosexuality is learned? Is it true that people who change sex are disturbed? Do the more accepting cultures have it right? Why do Americans scorn this but other countries don’t? Is the list on p. 429 what makes a woman? What issues are there with these expectations? Is the list on p. 430 what makes a man? What issues are there with these expectations?

7. Save the Males Is it true that all boys have homicidal urges? Why is it that male criminals are looked at as normal while female criminals are looked at as abnormal? Are men bound to fail? Is it true men have a harder adolescence then girls? Why do boys feel like what is described on p. 526? Is the “mask of masculinity” the cause? Should we give up morals for better adults?

8. Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt Is advertising a form of porn based on p. 456? Are the themes true on p. 456? Is male violence encouraged? Do men need to learn from women? Does the media create bad men? Does media create rape? What is the double role of women? Are men animals? Does media pit women against each other? Is p. 461 why we are so mean? Is the fact that we don’t think about the Ads the real problems? Do most women live in terror?

9. Why does sex sell? What is the difference between male and female objectification? Discuss p. 465. Is it true we do these things out of fear (p. 465)? Is p. 468 the reason that models are a size 0 now? What are the views of each gender on the other? Is high school where we start to be solidified in our roles?

10. Appearances Is the criticism homosexuals suffer through any different from what we suffer? Why do we assume when we are wrong? What are your thoughts on gender betrayal? Is appearance all we care about? Discuss social pressure. Is homophobia equal to racism?

11. Let’s Stop Scaring our Kids Is this woman really unfit to be a mother? Do we coddle children too much in America? Is that why we have fallen behind in terms of success? How does all this tie back to the article “What we Really Miss About the 1950s”?