Pretty or Smart, the roles of Women

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On Friday, Dec. 3, UVU student Natalie Bankhead presented her findings to students and professors during the second annual “Contours of Knowledge” conference.  Bankhead’s topic was “The Social Construction and Evolution of Gender Within Three Generations.”

Bankhead said that for her project, she interviewed her Grandmother and her Mother. The third generation was Bankhead herself. According to Bankhead, her Grandmother was a 1950’s housewife who was expected to stay in the home, cook, clean and look pretty.

Bankhead’s Mother was born in 1947 and grew up wanting to be cute and have many children.

According to Bankhead, her generation requires that “One has to be smart or pretty.”

Conference organizer Rikki Carter said that Bankhead, “Made astute observations.”

According to Carter, “We are in the adolescent phase” of social construction and gender evolution for women.