Source: IMDb
When Baby Boom was released in 1987, public perceptions of the working woman were steadily improving. According to Pew Research Center, only 30 percent of Americans polled at the time believed women should return to their traditional roles in society — wife, mother, and homemaker — while 66 percent disagreed. Yet, while Americans were more accepting of ambitious women in theory, in practice, many continued to adhere to the antiquated gender roles that plague society to this day.
For J.C. Wiatt, played by Diane Keaton, life was all about work and climbing the corporate ladder. As the only woman in the boardroom, J.C. had essentially disguised herself as “one of the boys” until an unexpected inheritance landed in her lap — her distant relative’s orphaned daughter, Elizabeth. While J.C. attempts to juggle her newfound motherhood and manic management career simultaneously, the strain ultimately drives her to abandon city life for an old fixer-upper in Vermont’s countryside.
Once J.C. gains her footing, however, she creates an immensely successful baby food brand that causes the very colleagues who essentially chased her from her office to come crawling back on hands and knees for a piece of the proverbial pie. Yet, while J.C. holds all the cards, including the opportunity to return to an increasingly lucrative corporate job, she declines the offer, as she recognizes that her professional pursuits would rob her of precious moments shared with the daughter she’d come to love as her own.
Despite J.C.’s smart decision, her situation highlights the sort of sacrifices women must make daily regarding work-life balance. Although her story took place 30 years ago, modern society has done little to ease the burden thrust upon mothers. Women are expected to fulfill all child-rearing and familial obligations, regardless of their professional status, while men pawn off parenting duties so they can focus on “providing” for the family they rarely see. Gender stereotypes continue to impede female ambition, as women must often choose between having a family and advancing their career, unlike their male counterparts.
Source: IMDb
In 2008, Pew Research Center conducted a study to explore why so few women have risen to the top ranks of American politics and business. While both men and women (32 percent vs. 37 percent respectively) agree that women’s family responsibilities don’t afford them the time necessary to run major corporations, those seeking political careers face even greater hurdles. Twenty-seven percent of those polled said women’s family responsibilities don’t leave time for politics, while others agree that women who are active in party politics are held back by men (43 percent) and that women are discriminated against in all areas of life including politics (38 percent).
J.C.’s story has a happy ending, of course, as such movies usually do. She established an alternative way to support her family, she gained new perspective and purpose, and she found love in the arms of the local veterinarian. But even J.C.’s triumphs are merely relative compared to what so many women must forfeit in return. Society expects women to raise the next generation, but then shuns those who opt out of the workforce to care for their children. No matter how hard women try to satisfy everyone’s standards, they’re trapped in a perpetual lose-lose situation that will never improve unless we alter how we view mothers overall.
After her initial reluctance, J.C. soon discovers how rewarding motherhood can be. She comes to recognize that success isn’t always measured by paychecks and fancy titles. However, American society has yet to adopt these same realizations.
Critics are correct when they say women can’t have it all, but it’s not because they are incapable of juggling responsibilities. (Any mother would agree that juggling is just one of their many talents.)
In this case, society deserves the blame.
We can claim to value family above all else, but until we begin actively putting personal priorities ahead of professional obligations — until we start gauging success by how much love we have, not how much money we’ve earned — society will never be able to reassess how it views motherhood deep down.
(This post originally appeared on Storia.)
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