A typical day for me after coming home from school used to begin with entering through the side door into the kitchen, dropping my backpack on the kitchen floor, heading straight for the pantry or refrigerator for a snack and sitting down on a stool at the kitchen island to start my homework as I turned on General Hospital . As my mother got around to cooking dinner, I was still sitting in that seat but I let conversations with my mother interrupt my homework. I'd get up from my seat to greet my father when he returned from work, but somehow, I always returned to that seat. My brother practiced his saxophone in the kitchen until dinner was ready and we would all sit down at the kitchen table in the breakfast nook for dinner. Countless hours have been spent by each member of my family in the kitchen, which equates to the time spent in a typical family room or den. In essence, out of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is our family hangout.

The main intended function of the kitchen remains the same as in the past. Food is kept for storage and prepared for meals in this room. The presence of appliances such as the stove, oven, sink, and refrigerator have remained basic. Color schemes and designs of the kitchen, however, have changed slightly. Puke green and mustard yellow have been replaced by more sophisticated and contemporary styles and colors, such as natural wood grains or basic black and white. New kitchen accessories have been added since the 1950s, such as the dishwasher, microwave, and larger refrigerators with connecting freezers. Appliances have taken a new role as an integrated part of the overall decorating scheme replacing their boxy, bulky predecessors that seemed more appropriate for a science laboratory. (1)

The use of the kitchen has changed dramatically throughout the last forty years and with it, gender role implications. What used to be the mother's domain has become the family domain. Every member of the family can help their mother, or at least keep her company while she prepared dinner for the family. Mothers can also keep an eye on their children while cooking. No longer is the kitchen a secret unknown room behind a swinging door which is off-limits to guests. These days, guests are perfectly welcome to help get the food to the table and bring dishes back afterwards. Until a decade or so ago, the woman and no one else was expected to use the kitchen. Gender roles have always been defined by sterotypes of suburbia. The male worked and brought home the money as the head of the household while the female cleaned the house, cooked food in the kitchen and raised the kids. The modern kitchen hasn't changed the woman's role that much, although it is more common to see men cooking dinner than before.

For more modern times, the kitchen is open to all members of the family, not only the mother. Center islands were created with stool space underneath for people to sit, televisions sets are very commonly found in the kitchen area, and the kitchen table is used not only for eating, but also for work.(2) The design of the kitchen has molded this way of living in many ways. Evolutions of the kitchen include more countertop area, center islands, larger floor space, and easy access and direct view of the breakfast nook and family room. Store-bought kitchen accessories, like electric can openers and toasters are now made to fit under the cabinets. Everything, including the can opener, has become space efficient with the many uses of countertop space and underneath the cabinet in mind.

Television shows that span the post WWII era illustrate the kitchen and its uses. Take Wonder Years for example. This show shares the daily life of the Arnold family with prime time viewers, filming many scenes in their typical 1950s home. Their kitchen is very narrow, with appliances covering only one wall. Scenes taped in the kitchen almost always depict Mrs. Arnold at the stove or sink talking to her children or husband while doing something domestic, like washing dishes or preparing dinner. The kids were actually shown playing outside, unlike any sitcom set in today's time. Family Ties took place in the 1980s and showed scenes of the Keaton family in a much larger kitchen working through everyday problems and experiences. Their kitchen had much more floor and counter space, plus a center island. Still later, Roseanne, which is set in the 1990s, also shows a great number of scenes in the kitchen area. There is a lot of floor space and although there is not a kitchen island, counters take up two walls. Essentially, the shows are based increasingly around the kitchen as time progresses.

The kitchen in comparison with the other rooms of the home embodies the most domestic and woman-dominated atmosphere. During the post WWII era, the role of the wife was to be husband's helper, counselor, and confidant. (1) She was associated with aprons, vacuums, and Tupperware parties and generally did not have a career outside of running the house. The kitchen was her domain. Products for this room were more or less designed and marketed for her fingers and skills while the rest of the house was furnished for the whole family to share. However, once the image of the working woman appeared, her role in the kitchen became less important. The kitchen was now open to all members of the family; with innovations such as microwave ovens, TV dinners, electric can openers, and a wide variety of canned foods, the rest of the family could prepare a few meals on their own without the help of mother.(2)

The ideals of suburbia include family togetherness, however, the modern kitchen may actually embody a greater sense of separation within the family. Since children could even work the appliances and make their own TV dinners, there is no need for mom to make dinner anymore. Mothers are finding it easier to hold careers outside of the home because their kids can handle dinner by themselves. However, the degree of family separation varies from family to family. In my family, the kitchen actually brings us together.

I have always spent time in the kitchen of our house. Since my childhood, I remember large spaces where I had enough room to play and hang around my mother while she did whatever she had to do around the kitchen. In the kitchen area, I felt most familiar and close to my mother. I hold deep admiration for my mother because I spent so much time near her and watching her as I was growing up. I definitely feel as though kitchens have changed from the post WWII era to today. There is often no obvious separation between the kitchen/eating area and the family room. It is also very common to find televisions in both rooms, in fact, in my home, the television in the kitchen is viewed more than one in the family room. The family room is also another important room of the home. The use of the room may have centered around the fireplace before the advent of the television, which actually might have taken over as the center of family life. The television certainly does not promote as much family interaction as the fireplace, which again, may have been detrimental to the closeness of the American family. Katie discusses in her family room project that the television got everyone together, sitting and quiet, and unified the family. I disagree with this statement because parents and kids do not always want to watch the same shows and it is quite common to find both parents and kids with televisions in their rooms.

The 1950s kitchen symbolizes an aspect of feminism that will be less prominent in my life, but that I will nevertheless try to uphold while raising my children. I plan to teach the rest of my family to help perform the tasks and duties that my mother toiled through single-handedly. I also hope that the atmosphere of my own kitchen remains very social and comfortable like it has always been in my parents' home. I remember my mother greeting me in the kitchen after many tiring and stressful days at school. Sitting at the kitchen table and talking with my mother made my troubles float away. This special room has indeed been the site of many precious memories.

In suburbs across the nation, the kitchen will continue to evolve with the times while maintaining its special place in the homes and hearts of families actualizing their American dream.

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