Feminism And Gender Roles Importance

1.a Gender roles are how a society believes a man or women should act based on their gender. Each society has its own gender roles, where a man might be expected to do something in one society a woman might be expected to do it in another one. An example of gender roles affecting women is that women are expected to take care of the housework and so they do chores around the house even if they have a job. Men are expected to be the breadwinner and support his family financially. Men are not expected to be as much of a homemaker as a woman and women are not expected to be the main breadwinner of a family. Gender roles offer advantages such as giving a person an idea on how they are supposed to act and what they are supposed to do. However,

When a person is born, they are either male or female. Before they are born, their parents are going to set goals and expectations for them. Sometimes parents will name their child after a famous celebrity hoping they will be just as great as them. Each gender will have different ways they should live their life in order to stay within their gender role. Some will meet the expectations and other will not. That does not make them look less of their gender, they will just be expected to meet them. Over the years, some gender roles have submerged and others have risen above. They will be able to show how the gender roles are supposed to be in jobs, education, and marriage and also how they can benefit from stepping out of the gender roles.

The roles of gender are changing rapidly. Throughout U.S. history men have played dominant roles and were always the family breadwinners. As women get more education and make more money they are becoming the primarily breadwinners of their families. More women are working outside the home and their earnings are important to the well-being of their families. What are the effect on their families, careers and equal wages?

“I think we 're struggling with trying to redefine various positions at this point in history. To allow freedom for women, freedom for men, freedom from those sharply defined gender roles “ (Fred Ward). I agree with this quote because in today’s society gender defines the roles of what a male and a female can do. What is gender? Gender, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones). The term gender is only used when we describe how men and women are different in a society but the actual term that really defines a man and a woman is sex. Sex, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and many other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions. The differences of gender roles are something that is seen in many cultures. It can be seen in families, society, in occupations, and in politics. This can be related in the field of psychology because these can create a general notion of a person and what they are supposed to do and how they should behave, or in other words what a person can create in his or her mind is stereotypes. Some stereotypes on gender are according to www.healthguide.org some of the gender stereotypes are that women should have clean jobs. That means that women should not have a job like a being a sewage worker or a miner. Another

Gender Roles can be defined as roles society expects people to play on account of their sex life. Like all roles, gender roles are made up of sets of expectations, so they can be thought of as sets of expirations, so they can be thought of as sets of expectation that are attached to sex.(pp: 220 John E. Farley & Michael W. Flota).

Literature throughout history has displayed to us the evolution of the male and female gender roles in society. Women have been described as ‘the angel in the house,’ whilst men are typified as dominant and prevailing in comparison to women. The gothic genre in literature is used to personify and exaggerate these stereotypes, by using gothic motifs such as dream sequences and themes such as horror and terror. Not only does the gothic exaggerate the stereotypes, but it also allows them to be contravened, due to the transgressive nature of the genre. The psychoanalytical aspect of this genre, allows for repressed desires to be made eminent and therefore characters can transgress and in the process, cross their contemporary gender boundaries. Keats uses the gothic device of Negative capability in order to conceal the transgression of the females in his poetry, Carter revised gothic fairytales in order to display them from a feminist approach and Stoker uses gothic themes, set against the backdrop of the fluidity of Fin de siècle period, to allow characters to stray from their gender stereotypes.

Gender roles govern the way that most of the world’s population interact with one another. Many African cultures uphold deeply patriarchal gender roles which dictate how women and men interact with one another. Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie, a staunch feminist, gives readers a look into Nigerian gender roles in her short story Birdsong. Her writing in Birdsong and her TEDtalks explore and expose how these gender roles are harmful and how important it is for many stories of young women of color to be heard.

Gender roles and gender identity are topics that are prevalent in today’s society, and cause many debates in classrooms and in everyday life. There are varied opinions on the subject. Most people have very strong beliefs on how children develop their gender roles and identity and can backup those beliefs with personal experiences behind their reasoning

From the moment we are born we are put into one of two categories, boy or girl. We are never asked or considered to be anything but. No in between, no blurred lines. And because of the society we created, we attach extensive stereotypes to each of those genders. This is simply known as gender roles, or more specifically; “a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex”. This includes all kinds of stereotypes, like, that women should stay home, cook, and be “girly”, and that men need to be strong, the sole provider of the house, and “manly”. Not to say you can’t be those things, but those roles can be very constricting for most of the population. Gender roles can be so restricting that they affect our lifestyle, workplace, and mentality and self image.

When I was young I was told I should not like the color blue because it was a “boy” color and that I should prefer pink instead. I was told I should not like pokemon because only boys should play it. Growing up I was always given dolls to play with while my brother received legos. It is scientifically proven that giving dolls to children allow them to have more nurturing skills and giving legos allows to kids develop problem-solving skills. However, parents are more reluctant to give dolls to boys even though it can benefit them greatly. Young boys and girls are separated so much that they aren't even allowed to play with the same toys or like the same colors. What children experience in their childhood subconsciously

One of the examples from this book that disturbed me the most was “Boys invent things. Girls use the things boys invent.” These two pages of the book alone showed the sexism of the author. The author was implying that boys are handymen and are capable of using their mind to invent things. He also is implying that girls are not as smart as boys or incapable of inventing anything for themselves because they are ‘girls.’ The author went on to point out jobs that a boy or girl can have. Examples of this include “Boys as doctors. Girls are nurses.” “Boys are policemen. Girls are meter maids.” “Boys build houses. Girls keep houses.” While expressing what boys and what girls are expected to grow up to be this teaches the readers that boys and girls are not equal. They are not allowed to be what they want to be, but what their gender is expected to become based on society’s

Society today places many ideals when it comes to proper behaviours regarding gender roles. These are considered societal norms that are widely debated and controversial. Society has created a norm, which encompasses specific expectations and rules that change the daily lives of men and women, giving them specific tasks and behaviours to abide by. These standards are known as gender roles, which are defined as distinguishing actions, thoughts, and feelings of males and females. Gender roles are said to be a result of nature, which is a natural process, every male or female is to follow. On the other hand it can be a result of nurture, which changes ones way of thinking and adapting their lifestyle to fit their environment. Either way gender roles are a part of someone’s life from the moment of their birth, as they develop, and long after that, this proves that gender roles are influential to a person’s life and development. This essay examines how media such as music, family life, and different parenting styles encompass gender roles and teaches behaviours regarding them. Therefore, gender roles define males and females are a result of nurture and not nature.

A gender role is simply a behavior that may be learned by a person that is so called “accepted” into society or a cultural normality. For example, men are known for supporting the family the most such as keeping the food on the table and being most of the income that comes into the household. Women on the other hand are normally looked upon as house cleaners, childcare givers, and less responsible jobs inside the house. Gender stereotypes are a little bit different; this is a way of seeing someone, as they appear just based on their gender. (Rathus, 2010, p. 526) Such as some men like to watch sports or play them, not all men watch or play sports but people assume so. Women are normally the ones who are seen but not heard. That is not always the case; some women like to be either the center of attention or want their voice heard, eliminating the stereotype of women being dependent on men for everything.

Throughout history, there has always been the role of both the male and the female in society. As time passed and civilization progressed, the question of the role of the women has also changed. Men and women in society have had many differences, which included things such as gender roles, gender inequality, inequality in the workforce, and sex discrimination. Also, the questions of what it takes to be a man or to be a woman is very important. For many different cultures, gender differences are extremely important, as well as the role it has played in history and present day. Men throughout time have always had dominance over women. To this day, this dominance still exists and is shown in many different instances. Examples such as the gender system, and the sex role theory help to explain these differences. Theories on how to reduce gender inequality are extremely important in today’s society. Traditional roles are beginning to change, and a new freedom for men and women to explore different new roles has begun. The idea of gender stereotyping is fading, but still has not completely disappeared.

People often think of feminism as an issue that pertains only to women, but these people are not looking at the big picture. A large part of the inequality feminists are trying to rectify are the stereotypical gender roles the patriarchy has built for men and women, and unfortunately for a man, this may mean conforming to a sort of toxic masculinity. Not only are men expected to be emotionally shut off, they are also expected to be more inclined to anger and violence than women, and if they do meet this expectation, they are often excused of it with a simple “boys will be boys,” making it seem okay. If they happen to veer from the strong, loud, angry stereotype, they open themselves up to being seen as weak or girlish, which in this society, seems to be a horrible insult. While the danger of toxic masculinity to women is well known, the unfair standards and effects on men are often overlooked, even though they are damaging as well.