Communication, Gender Roles and Male Children's Participation in Domestic Work

Abstract

In human social world, effective communication is critical to building a healthy, wholesome and peaceful family where roles are shared and implemented equally to bring about optimal attainment of goals within the home front. Healthy communication among family members is a viable way of fostering stronger bonds which are necessary to enable families navigate challenges, and support one another socially and emotionally. It is pertinent for families to develop good communication patterns in role sharing, no matter how time-consuming and painstaking the process may be. All over the world, there exists seemingly worrisome stereotyping in the distribution of gender roles, that is, certain tasks and responsibilities are assigned primarily to women, especially roles that deal with domestic work. Over time however, the need for men and boys to play roles in domestic work in the interest of family growth and balance has become more intense. There have also been growing concerns on the need to deconstruct the ideologies supporting gender role imbalances in domestic work and support the inclusion of male children in household chores and caregiving. Gender activists believe that this will not only support family development and promote gender equality but foster a culture of respect, promote teamwork and retain the self-worth of the female gender. Even with the growing argument against the opinion that certain household duties as feminine, a good number of male children still do not believe in taking up roles that fall within the domain of female gender roles. This study therefore seeks to establish the importance of communication in promoting shared roles among family members in the attainment of growth, equality, unity, peace and harmony.