In the original novel of The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin, it takes the protagonist a mere three months to become the ideal wife. While it is never explained exactly how she becomes the archetypal wife, one can make certain parallels from The Stepford Wives to the current patriarchal society that is a necessity of the universally accepted definition of a ?civilized? society. From the earliest stages of existence, certain gender roles are perpetuated through certain cuts of clothing and colour schemes. These regressive mores of the ?civilized? society are by and large so ingrained in the collective consciousness of humanity that it will take massive amounts of work to begin combat.

During the Greek domination of the world, women were treated as mere property. If a husband died, the wife went back, along with the dowry, to the male leader of the house or to a brother of the deceased husband. There was no such thing as a heiress in ancient Greece. In fact, Greek males were allowed by law to have a concubine, and even to have legal children with them, if they so chose. The only place for women in the Greek society was that of minor power in a few religious rituals.

The subjugation of the female race in the modern race began with the rising popularity of Christianity in the first centuries of the common era. This is not to say that female subjugation was not a problem in the more ancient past, but the subjugation reached a fever pitch when a specific story was inserted into the mythos. This mythos, which is a familiar one, claimed two main tenets. These tenets included that women was naturally inferior to man due to the creation of woman from Adam?s rib, and that woman was inherently evil, owing much to humanity?s expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

However, these ancient examples do not add much to the current state of women in the ?civilized? world. Advertisements perpetuate the ideal of a voluptuous, rail-thin model who has nothing on her mind except the new fragrance. Female characters of any strong moral conscience are being replaced in popular TV and movies for vapid characters such as Nadia from the American Pie series of movies and the titular star of Ally McBeal. The two mainstays of the strong female character aren?t even real. These would be the recently canceled Daria Morgendorffer and the increasing bitchy Lisa Simpson.

To see the fruits of all the Friends, the 90210?s, the Real World?s, take a look at any college campus. Can you tell apart the legions of women who all dress in Abercrombie and Mavi? Personally, the idea of the Stepford Wife is realized in today?s society, with very few exceptions to the rule. Drop those platforms, chuck the peroxide, and pick up some Wollstonecraft, Goldman, or even some Davis. It will do wonders, and even save you some money in the process.