Gender And Gender Roles

Why should your gender determine how to live your life? Throughout my whole existence, I’ve been told to act and dress like a “girl” by most of my family. I never understood why it was such a huge deal, until I was much older. Gender expectations are still around today and they still continue to be affect the way men and women are treated. A man that acts within his own gender role is praised, but a woman is forced to stay in a certain limit within her role. Men and women shouldn't let their gender define themselves and it should not pressure them to live up to a certain standard created by society.

From adolescence and on, people have dreams. They develop a sense of longing for a certain career or hobby, and push to make this dream come true. Boys wanted to be firemen, and girls wanted to be ballerinas. One dangerous and heroic, while the other is graceful and poised. Have you ever heard of these roles switched? Have you heard a little boy say he wants to become a famous ballerina, or a young girl saying she wants to put out fires? The society we live in today has taught and developed many from a young age to believe in stereotypes and specific gender roles; therefore, leading us to be blinded by the fact that any sex can do anything they put their mind to: specifically women. Women who have been told they “can’t” for their whole lives.

Gender roles play an important role in society whether it is for good or for bad. These roles have been placed in society since the beginning of time. The term gender is socially created and it therefore categorizes men from women. How is gender defined, and what makes it different from the term sex? “…sex refers to the biological characteristics that distinguish women and men: sex chromosomes, reproductive organs, sex-specific hormones, and physical characteristics…Gender… refers to the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish women from men” (Cherlin, 2008, p. 81-82). The terms sex and gender are sometimes used interchangeably, although there is a clear distinction between the two. Gender is known to be socially constructed and is learned through social interactions and through the influences of the people around us. Gender roles are therefore sets of behaviors that are considered appropriate or acceptable for a man and for a woman, exclusively. These roles are socially created as well. For example, men play football and women play volleyball. Gender neutrality on the other hand is a term that is trying to push out these socially constructed roles. “Gender neutral language and gender inclusive language aims to eliminate (or neutralize) reference to gender in terms that describe people” (Gender, 2015). As the word indicates, gender neutrality refers to the idea that all genders should be equal and that all genders must have the same opportunities without

My role as a young woman is to be as independent as I can be. Also as a young women I want to make responsible decisions that will only impact my life in positive and proactive ways. In my household as a young women I do not have a certain gender role to follow. In my household everyone helps inside and outside, doesn’t matter if you are a woman or a man. For an example my dad has polio in one of his legs, he is not capable of pushing a lawn mower, so I stood up and mowed the yard. Some people would say don’t you have any brothers that can take that role on, yes, but where's the fun in that. Why do men have to mow the yard why can’t a woman? I truly enjoy mowing the yard, it allows me to clear my mind and do something I really like doing. The first time I ever cut the grass was when I was around 14 years old, I saw my mom cutting the grass and I said to myself “if she can do then why can't I” and every since that day I mow the yard mostly every Saturday morning. Later on when the time comes and I become a wife with the right man I am going to love my husband with all my heart and hopefully he loves me back. We are going to be conformable enough with each other to talk to each other about anything and everything.

Society expects different behaviors from boys and girls. Gender socialization is the tendency of socialization of boys and girls differently. Gender roles are personality, attitude, and behaviors expected of people based on their sex. Socialization is one’s process of acknowledgment, acceptance, and awareness of societal values and norms. George Mead theorized that through social interactions, one will develop their personal identity, such as a little girl being gifted a play kitchen set so she can mimic her mother’s role and a boy playing with a plastic tool box. Therefore, following the footsteps of their parents, many grown men struggle to be emotionally available or expressive while women continue to feel obligated to satisfy a man. Many are influenced by culture, and many parts of the world, cultures are different. For example, in the U.S., many people associate the color blue with boys. Even as babies, they are treated different and dressed different. A girl is seen only for her outward appearance while a guy is seen for his interests and aspirations, again, objectifying a woman and elevating a man. Men are shamed upon if they are not the bread earner of the household and women are shamed for not being there for their child instead, working a job. As members of society, one will accept these gender criteria and be disciplined to act according to one’s gender to avoid being the misfit of the group.

The point of advertisements has always been making sales. The inclination towards solving social issues has not been the main concern for advertisers. However, in recent years, some advertisements have taken on the roles of being both persuasive and progressive by tackling current social issues. Men were previously presented as macho and incompetent with regard to household matters. They were also presented in stereotypical male roles. The body image that is presented to the public is in most cases unrealistic. There existed stereotype with regards to women in the workplace and the jobs that they could be assigned. They are presented with an unrealistic body image; they are objectified and oversexualized, presented only in traditional female roles and depicted as less capable than their male counterparts.

Gender puts people into categories, and within these categories, they must conform to specific set of rules and norms. Gender in society causes people to tick off a box of either male or female. Although, non-binary is now slowly becoming accepted by some groups and individuals, society as whole has yet to fully included the identity into the picture. According to society, females are domesticated, have the role of being a nurturer, being graceful and submissive, and taking care of the family and home. On the other hand, males are dominant, they have a role as a protector and provider. I will argue about how gendered expectations limit human potential, as it causes individuals to take on roles, that may reflect who they are.

Throughout life, children learn the concepts of feminine and masculine from their parents and society. The way we think about men and women and their gender roles in society make up the prevailing archetype that influences out thinking. The archetype makes it difficult for us to analyze the roles of men and women in prehistory properly.

Children learn from their parents and from society the concept of what gender is and how to identify a male and female. Many of these learned concepts are cultural. Gender roles are the characteristics, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that society expects of males and females. Gender roles in our society have changed significantly in current times, for example more woman working in various fields, especially those that were once held exclusively by men and a lot more men deciding to stay at home taking care of their children, while their significant other works outside of the home. In response to Eckert and Ginet's assertion that "Being a girl or being a boy is not a stable state but an ongoing accomplishment, something that is actively done both by the individual...and by those...in the various communities to which it belongs, " I believe that being a boy or a girl is a self-discovery. There are plenty of other qualities one can find about themselves, more beyond than just being a male or being a female. An example would be a female who enjoys doing masculine things and is good at sports or a male who enjoys doing hair and makeup. I believe it is never a stable state because not everyone is a society norm of a male or a female and I personally feel like it affects children and teenagers negatively because it puts pressure on them.

Living in today’s culture, children learn early in life what it means to be either a boy or a girl from the society in which they live. These little girls and boys get their first exposure from observing at their parents, who are t Living in today’s culture, children learn early in life what it means to be either a boy or a girl from the society in which they live. These little girls and boys get their first exposure from observing at their parents, who are their first teachers and educators. What they see mom put on or do may be very different from dad and they can quickly establish a distinction between the two. According to the Gender Schema Theory, children alter their behavior to fit in with the gender standards and beliefs of their culture, so one’s perceptions of what it means to be a male or female differ (Bem, 1983, p.603). Essentially what this means is that individuals understand and conform to gender roles by interacting with various people in their lives. Boys and girls learned how to be their specific gender based on their communication with family members, teachers, friends, etc. It defends categorizing and labeling and why such stereotypes continue in our society. I read a particularly fascinating article where researchers examined the association between parents’ gender role viewpoints on children’s own view about the choice of athletic involvement. The results of the study suggest that parents see sports as more fitting and suitable for their sons and are

Gender stereotypes have been an epidemic plaguing society on international level since the beginning of civilization. In the United States of America, these norms have prevented both men and women from fully reaching their potential within society. The issue stems from tradition parenting methods and a deep-rooted history of raising boys and girls to see themselves differently; each with specific roles within their culture divided by a fine line between the two sexes that should not be crossed. Parents need to see the harm of enforcing such rules and how teaching both sexes the same core lessons will be the most beneficial for their children. The question of whether boys and girls should be raised the same is not black and white: it is a conglomerate of various issues that have built up and grew overtime. However, it is the solution to eradicating the toxic culture of gender roles and must be solved with new parenting techniques that embrace children for their unique selves, rather than their sex.

For as long as time can remember, a form of entertainment has existed. As times advance, a new and improved mode of entertainment is born. Entertainment and the media has been used and abused over the last century by the many hungry viewers. Medias have not prevailed for the mass amount of time that entertainment has, but the lasting impact the media created has been both positive and negative. However, the negative outshines the positive; media representations of gender and gender roles have a negative effect on men and women.

“And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh,” the words of Genesis 2: 22-24 gives us a clear example of gender roles and how it can play a part in our social views. I believe God gave us a very clear example of what each gender roles’ are and how they should live out their lives through: the definition of the term, Scriptural implications and interpretations, prevalent societal views, and personal experience.

Why should we pay attention to or worry about gender roles and the dynamics that stem from them when we are constantly being bombarded with serious and pressing issues afflicting our society i.e. the political, environmental, electoral, domestic, international, etc. etc.?

When it comes to gender, many people have different views and experiences. Men and women have different expectations put upon their lives. These expectations are common even within the family and on the job. While some gain advantages others do not. Men gain the advantages when it comes to work and education. They are expected to be the primary breadwinner in their families. Nonetheless, not every man has the same attitudes towards gender. While we have the same structure of gender at work and in the family, men do have different attitudes and opinions than before.