Chapter-4 GROWING UP AS BOYS AND GIRLS

1. Are the statements given alongside true or false? Support your answer with the use of an example.

(a) All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play

(b) Our society does not make a distinction between boys and girls when they are growing up

(c) Women who stay at home do not work

(d) The work that women do is less valued than that of men

Explanation:

(a) The statement is accurate. The work that boys do is generally valued higher than the labour that ladies do.

(a) The statement is untrue. Boys and girls are treated differently in our society even while they are still developing. Boys are instilled with a sense of toughness and seriousness from an early age, whilst girls are encouraged to be kind and delicate. Girls are given dolls while boys are given playthings like automobiles and firearms.

(c) The statement is untrue. Household duties take up a lot of the time of stay-at-home women.

Several more tasks, some of which are very laborious, including cooking, washing clothing, sweeping the floor, and many others.

(d) The assertion is accurate. Ladies work really hard.


2. Housework is invisible and unpaid work

Housework is physically demanding

Housework is time consuming

Write in your own words what is meant by the terms ‘invisible’, ‘physically demanding’, and ‘time consuming’. Give one example of each based on the household tasks undertaken by women in your home.

Explanation:

  1. Transparent. It indicates that the job is typically not noticed and appreciated by others. Women are mostly in charge of household duties and caregiving responsibilities, including looking after young children and the elderly. Such chores are not recognised as work, thus they continue to be hidden.

  2. Physically taxing, see ii. Housework is incredibly demanding and challenging. Women perform a lot of labor-intensive tasks, such as hauling big bundles of firewood and cleaning the entire family's clothes

  3. Expensive in time. It takes a lot of time to do household duties. Women's routines, for instance, start early in the morning and go well into the evening. They are observed working hard at this time, taking care of their family members' needs. On occasion.


3. If you know someone working as a domestic help in your house or locality, talk to her and find out a little bit more about her life – Who are her family members? Where is her home? How many hours does she work? How much does she get paid? Write a small story based on these details.

Explanation:
Shanthi has been a domestic helper at my home for a number of years. She is a native of a village near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. She resides in Bangalore with her husband and a little kid who is presently enrolled in a reputable university to study B Com.She arrives at work sometime around 7:30 in the morning and is done by 6:00 in the evening. She is diligent and skilled in her work, and she never once complains or raises a fuss about it.She receives Rs 5000 each month in addition to all other perks like food, clothing, etc. Her spouse creates wax mannequins for apparel retailers and makes a respectable living doing it. Shanthi is still in charge.


4. Make a list of toys and games that boys typically play with and another for girls. If there is a difference between the two lists, can you think of some reasons why this is so? Does this have any relationship to the roles children have to play as adults?

Explanation:

Boys' toys and games include the following:

Cars\sGuns Figures in action

Football, volleyball, cricket, basketball, and other sports equipment.

A list of the games and toys that girls enjoy:

Dolls Kitchenware

Model homes; toys; fashion 

The list above makes it abundantly clear that society makes a differentiation between males and girls, which is evident even during the early stages of development. Girls are expected to stick to their 'feminine' values while boys are trained to be rough and strong, emphasising their male features. In the end, it drives home the point that when they mature into adult men and women, they will each have a certain job to fulfil. Later in life, this might even have a negative impact on professional decisions.


5. What did boys do every evening, once the school was over?

Explanation:

Boys observed as hundreds of schoolgirls crammed the congested streets every evening after classes ended. The females travelled in packs through the streets with the sole purpose of returning home immediately. Instead, the boys used the streets as a place to play, stand around idle, and practise various bicycle stunts. They failed to arrive at home in time.


6. Why does our society devalue the work women do inside the home?

Explanation:

Inside the home, women are responsible for many tasks. They take care of the entire family, paying special attention to the young, old, and ill members. They oversee all activities with such efficiency. They wash clothes, keep things tidy, and cook by spending hours in front of hot stoves. Women and girls often carry huge quantities of firewood on their heads in rural areas. In our families and societies, these works are not regarded as authentic works. Women's domestic labour is not recognised as legitimate employment. It is believed that women are innately better at this than men. It doesn't have to be paid for because of this. Such labour is undervalued in our society.


7. Our constitution does not discriminate between male and female. But the inequality between the sexes exists. What does the government do to remedy the situation?

Explanation:

The government is aware that childcare and household duties fall primarily on women and girls. Obviously, this affects whether girls can attend school. It dictates what kinds of professions and careers women can have, as well as whether they are allowed to work outside the home. Anganwadis, or child care centres, have been established by the government in a number of villages around the nation.Laws have been passed that mandate creche facilities for businesses with more than 30 female employees. The availability of creches encourages many women to pursue outside-the-home employment. Moreover, girls have profited from this clause. Now, more and more girls are beginning to enrol in school.


8. What was a very important activity on the Samoan islands in the 1920s?

Explanation:

In the 1920s, fishing was a crucial occupation on the Samoan Islands.


9. How was the girls’ school in Madhya Pradesh in the 1960s designed differently from the boys’ school?

Explanation:

Girls played in complete isolation and safety from the outside world in the school's central courtyard. The boys' school lacked a courtyard like that.


10. What do we teach boys and girls in their early childhood?

Explanation:

We instill in boys the need to be rugged and manly. Instead, we stress to girls the importance of being gentle and docile.


11. Why did Harmeet develop a notion that her mother did not work?

Explanation:

The work that women do at home is rarely recognised in our society as work. Women are said to be more naturally adept at this than men. Harmeet therefore asserted that her mother did not work and that she came up with these theories.


12. How are domestic workers treated by their employers?

Explanation:

Workers in the domestic sector are frequently mistreated by employers. They work extremely hard, but their employers frequently mistreat them.


13. What do you mean by the term ‘double burden’?

Explanation:

Today, many women hold dual jobs that take them out of the house. 'Double burden' is a common term used to describe this.