Growing up as Boys - Solutions

 CBSE Class –VII Social Science

NCERT Solution
Political Science Chapter 4
Growing up as Boys and Girls

Q1: Are the statements given alongside true or false? Support your answer with the use of an example-

  1. All societies do not think similarly about the roles that boys and girls play.
  2. Our society does not make distinctions between boys and girls when they are growing up.
  3. Women who stay at home do not work.
  4. The work that women do is less valued than that of men.

Ans:

  1. True. Our Indian society believes that the roles of boys and girls are different and are not valued equally. Broadly speaking, our societies are mostly patriarchal i.e., a male is always the head of the family. For example, in Indian society, boys are encouraged to handle outdoor work and girls are encouraged to manage household chores. The work that women do within the home is not valued as work. Most domestic workers are women. The work women do is strenuous, time consuming and demanding. However, in some Latin-American countries, both boys and girls are encouraged to take care of their younger siblings and also to manage both outdoor and household work. Both boys and girls are expected to do the same kind of work.
  2. False. Our society does make distinctions between boys and girls as they grow up. This can be exemplified as follows: The girls' school was designed very differently from that of the boys. They had a central courtyard where they played in total seclusion and safety from the outside world. The boy's school had no such courtyard. Boys used the streets as a place to stand around idling, to play and to try out tricks with their bicycles. For the girls, the street was simply a place to get straight home. The girls always went in groups for the fear of being teased or attacked. Girls are usually given toys such as dolls, whereas boys are given toys such as cars, bat and ball etc. As compared to boys, girls spend more time in the kitchen and they are the ones who help the mother in taking care of the requirements of the household. On the other hand, boys are more involved in outdoor activities. They are not shouldered with much responsibility.
  3. False. Though it is a preconceived notion that women who stay at home do not work, it is not true. Women who stay at home do almost an equal amount of work as compared to their male counterparts by running the household, which is not an easy task. House work is time consuming. On an average, women spend more time working as compared to men in tasks such as cleaning, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of children and the elderly, etc. However, their work goes unnoticed because a bulk of their work is household-related and does not contribute to the generation of income.
  4. True. It is a part of a larger system of inequality between men and women. Since our society considers men to be the breadwinners of the family, any work that a woman does is not valued much because it does not contribute to the total income of the family. However, it must be noted that the amount of time women spend in taking care of the household, which involves tasks such as preparing three meals, getting children ready for school, taking care of the general cleanliness of the household, managing rations, dealing with maids or other such domestic help etc., is truly commendable. It is also assumed that this is something that comes naturally to women. It, therefore, does not have to be paid for. And society devalues this work.

Q2:  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.
Ans:

  • 'Invisible' here means something which is not noticed. A good example will be cleaning the house. It is expected that the house should be clean at all times, however, women have to put in great effort to maintain the cleanliness. Cooking three meals for the entire family is also take for granted and they expect more varieties for every meal.
  • 'Physically demanding' means something which requires hard work and physical exertion. An example of this is washing clothes which require physical labor. In rural areas, women and girls carry heavy headloads of firewood. Tasks like cleaning, sweeping and picking up loads require bending, lifting and carrying.
  • 'Time consuming' means something which takes a long time to be done. Cleaning the entire house is an example of a time consuming household task. Cooking involves standing for long hours in front of hot stoves.