Shattered Ceiling Supreet Mann, Author of “Working Mothers are Benefitting the Family,” idolizes individuals going against the grain of societies’ long-held stereotype of the “perfect family.” Societal rules plagued the men and women of yesteryear. Men have been idolized while women have been looked down upon. However; recently, the plague has been lifted, and the United States has become a liberated society free of conformity, leaving men and women battling for highly desired positions in major corporations, while at the same time freeing women from the horrible stereotype that is associated with stay-at-home mother. Gender rules have suppressed individuals’ livelihood for hundreds of years. Beginning at our country’s earliest years, gender rules were clear. Women would stay at home, clean, and take care of the children while the man of the house worked hard to earn the money. Unfortunately, women had become a man’s pet, constantly telling their wives what to do and when to do it. “Dinner must be ready and to my liking at exactly six o’clock;” and if it were not ready the wife would be in trouble. Soon relationships were failing and people were unable and uncomfortable speaking their own thoughts in fear of what could happen to them. I witnessed this first hand. My father would put in the long hours of his work week with expectations left for my mother to handle at the home, which included dinner to be prepared and the house clean and organized. This scenario coincided with the horrible stereotype that is associated with the “typical” family. Fortunately the suppressed lives of men and women are no more. Today, individuals, whether men or women, are free to be their own person and able to have an equal shot at life. In today’s society, men and women are free to explore a variety of professional job settings previously looked down upon because of their gender. One of the largest gender role swaps recently discovered is the outbreak of stay-at-home fathers. The “bread-winners,” or fathers, once holding the role of homemaker, have replaced mothers, leaving mothers or wives to go to work. As odd as it seems, we see this swap of duties more each day. For instance, my cousin and her husband have one child, and as weird as it may seem, the man stays at home with their baby while the woman holds a position as a hairstylist at a salon she owns. This situation is what works best with their daily lives as I’m sure is the case with several other families around the world, which is becoming much more socially accepted and greatly supported. After hundreds of years, the