Adam's Rib, is a film completely centered on gender roles. Adam and Amanda are a married couple involved in the same field, law. When Doris Attinger is convicted of shooting her husband after he repeatedly cheats on her Amanda becomes obsessed with her case. She wishes to secure equal treatment for men and women in the courtroom, some of the witnesses even laughed Amanda's goal off as impractical when asked whether or not they viewed men and women as equals. Amanda wishes to equalize the roles between men and women but she herself does not. Doris shot her husband, regardless of the reason, it was an irresponsible, impulsive, and selfish act, I would state the same in the event of a man committing the act.
In the article, "Rosie the Riveter: Myths and Realities" Quick (1975) analyzes the history of the female labor movement during WWII that kept wartime production possible. However, Quick does not view women as liberated, instead the movement is still progressing. Before individuals can decide what definitive liberation is, the limits must be clear. Are certain gender roles natural or are they conventions set forth by society? Are women generally better at certain responsibilities? Can a man raise a child the same way a woman can? It's not that female liberation is unwanted, liberation just needs to be defined because at times the end results seem impossible. If gender roles have become second nature, I don't see a quick transition to where men will be rocking a cradle while women are on the couch watching Kungfu movies drinking a Budweiser.
In the article, "What's Love Got to Do with It? Equality, Equity, Commitment and Women's Marital Quality," by Wilcox and Nock (2006), the authors illustrate WASP marriages and claim that they create happy marriages. In WASP marriages, the relationship emphasizes on the wife's career path and spouses are expected to make sacrifices to make the marriage work. Though I have faith in the statistics put forth, the argument simply swaps the victims of gender roles. It seems as if once again, gender liberalization and what gender equality would look like actually is left out.
Like in the film, Adam's Rib, sometimes too much ambition on either side of a relationship can lead to the degradation of it. Amanda is clearly much more ambitious than Adam, she has something to prove and it causes her to be impulsive and irrational. I must admit that I think gender roles in their most simplistic forms within the four walls of a room are necessary and harmless. If two individuals are levelheaded they'll always cooperate and a relationship should be team based not a partnership of two individuals of two different calibers or qualities.
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