Chapter 6: Work, On The Job And At Home

In ⁰⁶⁰, adolescents from Norway and Guatemala drew pictures of the ideal man at work. In the first, a 14-year-old boy from Norway has drawn the ideal man as a police officer, one of the top five occupations for both boys and girls in Norway. In the second drawing, the ideal man is laying bricks. The 13-year-old Guatemalan girl who drew this picture has a father who is a bricklayer, and she thinks she might become a book¬ keeper. Both of these adolescents gave the highest possible rating to the importance of having a good job.

The ideal woman was also often shown at a job, especially in occupations such as teaching and office work. (See chapters 2 and 5 for discussions of the ideal woman as teacher.) ⁰⁶¹ presents three drawings of the ideal woman drawn by adolescent girls in Kenya, the Philippines, and India. In the first drawing the ideal woman is thinking about a job and the label says that she “has a job.” In the second drawing, an adolescent girl from the Philippines drew the ideal woman as a model. Among the top live choices for girls in many countries were occupations in the beauty and fashion industry, such as fashion designer or beautician. In the third drawing a 15-year-old girl from India has drawn the ideal woman as a doctor. Medical doctor was the occupation that was most frequently checked by girls in India, the United States, Mexico, and the Netherlands, and by immigrant girls living in Norway. It was among the top live choices for girls in Singapore, South Africa, and Ghana (see ¹ ).