Page 66 - Social Norms Survey

their relations with the opposite sex), causing a build-

up of anger and feelings of revenge, which explode
later. The majority

view among the
282 participants in

Women’s Safety
and Security Study

was that men
can and should

cry. Only some
older men in the mixed 35 years and older group

disagreed. How much this view is openly expressed is
another matter. Peer pressure is suggested to be a powerful constraint.

Gender Roles in the Family

For the youth on the PMI Retreat (who were the least articulate of all the groups) a man’s
role was to be breadwinner above all and, secondly, to be the defender. Children were

never mentioned in this conversation. For the young men in other FGDs the father was
a provider and a leader: the head of the household with all the major responsibilities.

He would however help with some domestic duties if the woman also
worked. The young women in the mixed group did not fully agree with

this, as they were too familiar with men who did not play this role. The
Westmoreland women were focused on the money that the men

provided for them and the children. Some, even after being pressed
by the facilitator, said they wanted nothing else. However they were

adamant that they were not taking their men to court, as they were very critical of the
female judge in their parish court who they say disrespected the men and did not listen to

them. In this instance class oppression trumped gender oppression.

For the young women, the woman’s role was all-inclusive: to take care of the family and
do all the domestic work. And, in addition, she was expected to go out and earn. One

young woman noted that there were some relationships in which the women were the
breadwinners and the men looked after the children. This role was totally rejected by most

42