Just Who Belongs in the Kitchen?: Challenging Traditional Gender Roles

What are gender roles are how were they used in The Secret Life of Bees?

After she was forced to quit her job to take care of me when I was a child, my mom tells me to never stop working to this day. She says no matter how hard it is at the moment because it’s miserable staying home and how it’s like wasting your life away. This is when I realized the difference between old-fashioned gender roles in China in comparison to old-fashioned gender roles in America.

In China, having a good work ethic is everything no matter the gender, everyone’s main goal is to work. The females want the jobs that are traditionally more feminine, like the medical field or something nurturing, while males take positions of power, but both want money. In America the woman traditionally stays home and takes care of the children while the man takes care of the family by earning money.

Male Gender Roles

The Secret Life of Bees does conform to gender roles as the males in the novel are violent or must uphold a reputation of being tough. For example, T. Ray is an abusive father, 3 men beat up Rosaleen on her way to vote, and Lily must wait for Zach until he is able to support her. Males also hold the most power throughout the novel like the priest and the many police officers introduced.

Female Gender Roles

Meanwhile, female characters play a nurturing role in Lily’s life. This does help with the plot development as what drives Lily out on the adventure to Tiburon is the fear of what might happen to Rosaleen and the hope to find out more about her mother. After Lily’s mother leaves, Rosaleen takes her place and assists Lily as a mother would but after Rosaleen gets arrested, the roles reverse and Lily must take care of Rosaleen and is once again left motherless. After finding the honey farm, Lily meets May, June, August, and the Daughters of Mary who all tend and care for Lily as if she were a daughter.

What are your thoughts on gender roles in society, how important do you think they are? I'm interested in hearing about how gender roles vary in different countries too!