MEN’S AND WOMEN’S ROLES IN SOCIETY

Some years ago division of roles were very simple. Men were breadwinners in the
families, women used to stay at home and they looked after their families and household.
These traditional roles haven’t been working for a while in our society.
Partly, men can’t earn enough money to make ends meet. So families need mothers’
salary too, that’s why they also have to work. And from this point of view part time
employment can not be the solution for them, as it needs a lot of work to get descent salary.
Even if we compare salaries to prices which are not reasonable at all. On the other hand
women also would like to work, they also need company and not to speak about their desire to
carry out their mental ambitions in life. However, as the outcome of it they have to cope with
a new difficulty in their lives, they have to share their time between their families and
workplaces.
Nevertheless men should take a bigger part in bringing up their children and even
more in the housework too. I don’t think it is difficult for them as they are also interested in
their family affairs (dolog; ügy), that is (i.e.) their children happiness and worries, school
achievement or fathers and children may share a common interest. Also, it is easier for a
woman, if it is not only her who should take the responsibility for everything in connection
with the family life.
Men’s taking part in the housework is a bit more difficult question. Although they can
do it, they are not so keen on it. Even they want or not, they should admit (beismer) women
can’t be left alone with so much work to do.
As I see it mother’s position is very demanding and responsible. They are expected to
do their best in both places. If they feel their duties too many, they can be frustrated and
tensioned (feszült) and it doesn’t bring any good for home atmosphere. That’s why they need
help from their husband and from us (from the children too).
Although doing housework is much less difficult today than it used to be like in the
times of our grandmothers. As we have a lot of household gadgets which save a lot of work
and energy.
It is also true that men’s position can not be envied (irigyel) as they have to earn more
and more money to keep up the same level of living. Working is not relaxing, even more it is
rather exhausting so it is very important to find peaceful, caring and friendly atmosphere
when they get home.
In our family ……..

FASHION
These pictures show different outfits for women. Most of them are casual ones but the clothes
on the left are better worn on formal occasions, if you go to the theatre or you have to appear
at an important party.
Being fashionable is an important part of the life, although it isn’t worth worrying too much
about it. You simply have to look good, be tidy and look after your appearance. It is equally
important for a woman or for a man but of course women care more about it. We can’t neglect
it as the appearance gives the first impression about us. Nobody likes talking to and getting in
touch with a person who is unkempt (ápolatlan) or scruffy (koszos, elhanyagolt). The other
essential (alapvető) thing about clothing that you should feel comfortable in the outfit you
wear. Uncomfortable clothes, shoes, tops, trousers which don’t fit you can spoil your day.
And however fashionable something is (bármennyire divatos is valami) if it doesn’t suit you
or it is far from your style, you feel ridiculous (nevetséges) in it. You also have to be careful
about colours, as they have to match each other and even more the colour of your hair or
complexion.
On weekdays I usually put on a pair of jeans with a T-shirt (cask fiúk) / (csak lányok): with a
top or a blouse it depends on my mood (hangulatomtól függ), sometimes I put on a skirt
especially when the weather is sunny and warm, because I don’t like being cold. I also love
dresses but they aren’t the best for the weekdays so I hardly ever wear them. As belongs to the
shoes, it is determined by the other pieces of clothes and occasions. If I have a busy, rushing
day I’d better wear trainers or some other kinds of casual shoes. But if I wear a skirt, high
heels match it better. (eddig tart a lányoké)
As winters and autumns can often be cold or even more freezing cold, jumpers and sweaters
can not be forgotten. In winter I like wrapping up (beburkolózni ruhákba), I have a thick,
warm winter coat, waterproof boots, scarf, gloves and if the weather is very chilly and windy,
I also have to put on a cap.
The one thing that I always do when I get home is changing my clothes. I think it is a good
idea as you can save your own clothes and in addition you can feel very easy in them. I have a
tracksuit and slippers on me.
We also shouldn’t forget about the material and the cloth. Try to wear natural fibres
(természetes szálak), I mean cotton, wool and so on.
There are some occasions when you simply mustn’t put on anything else just your
“celebration outfit” so something very formal. Besides theatres, school celebrations, great
family events, I would mention the school celebrations of our last year, I mean ribbon-pinning
(szalagavatő) and farewell ceremony (ballagás) or the days when we wrote our written exams.
In these cases you can express your trust (tisztelet) for the event and it would be very rude to
turn up (beállít) in your old worn-out (viseltes) jeans.
As I said, I like fashion but I am not crazy about it. I like buying some fashionable pieces of
clothes but not too many. On one hand because they cost a fortune, on the other hand fashion
changes all the time and it would take too much time to catch up (lépést tart) with it. Even
more there are some pieces of clothes that don’t suit everybody in spite of being highly
fashionable.

Shopping:
The pictures show two entirely different shopping facilities. There is a shop floor of a
supermarket in the upper (felső) picture while we can see a grocery or a corner shop in the
lower one. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages and customers go there for
different reasons.
Supermarkets have taken up the largest part of our shopping. They have spread very quickly
and become popular with the customers. There are a lot of explanations of their success. On
one hand they are very attractive, offer a wide range of goods, refresh their stock regularly,
organize a lot of sales, and they have reasonable prices. It is very easy and comfortable to do
the shopping there. Starting with parking facilities. When you arrive, you park your car in a
well-protected parking space free. Take a trolley (so you don’t have to carry a heavy basket
on your arm) and the only thing you have to do pile up the goods you need (or you don’t need,
just you can’t resist the temptation (ellenállni a kísértésnek). The articles are arranged clearly
in different departments. There is a ‘vegetable and fruit’, a ‘bakery product’, a ‘dairy
product’, a ‘dry grocery’, ‘alcoholic and non-alcoholic’, a ‘household chemicals’, a ‘frozen-
food’ and so on department. In hypermarkets you can find stationary (írószer); clothes; sports;
electrical and many other different departments. The bigger the hypermarket, the higher the
number of its departments. And one of their disadvantages is connected with it. It sometimes
takes a bit longer to find your way among the shelves. Although you can buy everything
under one roof, so this way you can save time as you don’t have to rush from one shop to
another to get everything for the weekend. They have a lot of cashier’s desks so you don’t
have to wait in the queue for a long time. Their prices are usually lower as well as their range
of goods is bigger than in the corner shops. They can afford them as they offer goods in huge
quantity. They often organize sales, when everything is sold 20-30-….. per cent cheaper.
They have a bargain counter, where the last products are placed or they have weekly
promotions which you can be informed about from their advertisement leaflets. They are
ideal places for our weekly or monthly shopping.
However there are at least as many disadvantages too. Just to mention some of them: their
quality is not always reliable, it especially belongs to their own brand name products, like
Tesco-economical etc. There are few shop assistants there and if you are unable to find a
product on your own it takes a time to find one of them.
The groceries or the corner shops are much better at their personal contact with the customers.
Shopkeepers need their customers, so they try to provide them with the best quality. They
mustn’t cheat them, as people won’t go back there. We have been going to the same shop for
a long time if we are really satisfied with them, so the staff know our wishes and taste exactly
so they can offer the best products to suit or pocket and taste. However they can not be
competitive with the prices and the goods-variety of large stores so they often go bankrupt.
Although we need them as they are perfect places when you need just one or two things or
when you need something urgently.