Gender Roles Of A Christian And Multicultural Family

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

Throughout history, women have been regarded as of lesser value than men particularly in the public sphere. This is the result of gender stratification. Gender stratification refers to the issue of sexism, “or the belief that one sex is superior to the other” (Carl et al., 2012, p. 78). The theory that men are superior to women is essential to sexism. Sexism has always had negative consequences for women. It has caused some women to avoid pursuing successful careers typically described as “masculine”—perhaps to avoid the social impression that they are less desirable as spouses or mothers, or even less “feminine.”

Through my experiences with people of many backgrounds, as well as my education, I have learned to separate the idea of sex and gender. I still maintain certain traditional views regarding gender, however I’ve come to the realization that the social constructs of men and women are not, and should not, be as rigid. In my opinion, I have acknowledged that there are differences between ‘men’ and ‘women’, however these differences should be used to uplift one another, rather than to tear the other gender apart. For example, a family unit in which the man decides to take on the responsibilities of the

“The world is still sexist.” — Barbara Broccoli. From the creation story to modern day, women and men still struggle with a power dynamic of inferiority and superiority. The problem of sexism has been ever-present throughout history, and although it has been acknowledged by many, it has not been eradicated or resolved. Although the acknowledgment of sexism has grown over the course of the modern era, it is heavily rooted in society’s developmental process, which makes it continuously difficult to annihilate. Furthermore, throughout many historical texts, women are often represented as objects instead of real people. Within texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah, women are constantly regarded as inferiors instead of equals with men. Throughout these texts, there is a clear separation between the treatment of men and women, with women always being referred to as property.

At the beginning of this semester, we wrote a reflection on our then-current knowledge of religion, women, and gender. I had very little knowledge of any religions other than Christianity because that is the religion I was raised in and continue to practice. As for women in religion, I also didn’t know much about except for Christianity, and even the extent of my knowledge in that area was limited. All I knew about gender was that there are two widely known and accepted genders, male and female, but one could also take on a third gender or no gender. After hearing several women from different religions speak as well as learning from texts and the professor, I have gained knowledge and perspective of women in religion.

In society, gender is a real struggle by reason of people do not believe that men and women should be treated as equals. Gender, although not directly mentioned is still a part of the story. In “The Minister’s Black Veil” (Hawthorne 28), the author indirectly mentions gender with,“The black veil, though it covers only our pastor’s face throws its influence over his whole person.” Like the black veil, gender is a prospect that individuals are fully judged based upon. Gender is an effective way

Gender is a social construction; as a society we deem behaviors and categorize them to our assigned sex at birth. Generations are the ones who make up society, thus overtime society has changed its ideals. Our current society is transitioning from binary thinking to a dualistic thinking; we are often analyzing things in the grey areas and not only focusing on black and white. Hence, the importance of Greg Baker’s presentation on Spirituality and Gender: Catholic Perspectives on a Whole and Just Life; he was the annual fall speaker sponsored by the Wm. Sennet Institute for Mercy & Catholic Studies.

The physical, mental, moral and emotional oppression and violence that men and women, children and adults experience through “Racism and Sexism” are happening worldwide in relation to human culture and religious beliefs. “Racism” is an act of violence against people or an unjust treatment of them because they belong to an inferior race. In the Bible, God had commanded the Jews to annihilate the Gentiles living Canaan in order to avoid them (Jews) learning the detestable ways of the Gentiles. (Deut. 20:16-18) On the other hand, “Sexism” or “Gender discrimination” is prejudice against women believed to belong to the weaker gender in connection to stereotypes and gender roles. Most men associated women’s weakness through what the Bible teaches about Eve, the mother of the human race, who through her mental and emotional weakness succumbed herself to the devil’s deception by being persuaded to eat the fruit that God forbade humans to eat. Eve’s weakness brought death to the history of human existence. (Gen.

In Jewish culture, they believe that man was created male and female (Gen 1:27), and that God endowed women with great perceptive abilities, insight and wisdom (Rich 2011). Jacobs in explaining the “Genesis Narratives” however indicates that males were the preferred gender while females were simply a necessity for continuing the family line (Jacobs 2007). This contrasts Rich’s argument, which claims that Jewish culture respects and value women because of the role they play in being the first to teach children the Torah but are not allowed to socialize and have a public life (Rich 2011). Even in our contemporary world, mothers play a key role in shaping the character of their children; leaders are shaped partly through the influence that can be traced from their childhood (Blackaby and

According to Christian doctrine: In the Beginning, God created man and woman. In older times, before Christ, women and men were designated roles in the Holy Bible. Men were expected to be the head of the household, while women were expected to be the body. This means that men were to produce for their families while women are to run the family. Now years later, although society has much changed, there is still an unspoken expectation that should be reached by both sexes. Although women and men have fought for things, such as women rights and equality- there is a double standard that exists between the two genders. Some have argued whether the lifestyle of a man versus a woman is harder (Chrisler). In those arguments, both parties have valid points. Many of the points refer to the gender double standard and expectation that both genders are expected to maintain. Many of these “expectations” occur in adolescent years of the individual (Axinn). In Jamaica Kincaid’s short story “Girl” I do believe that society also played a role in the expectations of this mother’s idea of femininity. This story was written in the early 1980’s. Around this time frame, women were coming up in society. They were moving into professional and managerial jobs during this time frame. There was a 27% increase in working women during the 1980s (Bock). Due to gender double standards and the expectations of femininity, it is harder to be a woman than to be a man. I also think that

As an avid seeker of knowledge and understanding, women's rights activist, Christian, scholar, and woman -- I enrolled in Women and Religion at Spelman College to further extenuate my intellectual and spiritual capacity in the context of the relationship between women and religion. On a daily basis I strive to uncover the true interpretation of what God desires for me, and other women and men in the world; in the interest that "every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man." Considering this, before I enrolled in this class I already held some beliefs and ideas about women and religion, women’s leadership in various religious traditions, and women’s activism in different religious traditions. However, exposure to religious scholar’s

Throughout history we have made great strides towards gender equality but problems with sexism and discrimination still remain. In America, many people assumed that men and women were biologically different and should have different responsibilities. When the agriculture time was in effect, the women would have different jobs from the men. For an example, the men worked and brought home the essentials, and the women would stay at home, complete house duties and watch the children. These social constraints and guides become moral obligations to obey (Allen, p.199). According to Durkheim, “a group is moral if its behaviors, beliefs, feelings, speech, and styles, are controlled by strong group norms and viewed in terms as right or wrong” (Allen, p.131). This was the behavior that was supported by many people. It was a social fact and not argued to be changed. According the Durkheim, social facts are sui generis (Allen, p.199). Social facts are ways of acting and thinking, they embrace beliefs, practices, which eventually crystallize and limit the possible forms of individuals' actions and forms of consciousness (Allen, p.199).

Someone once asked me a question that I have struggled to answer. Although it was simply asked, the answer was nothing but complex- what is the difference between a man and a woman? Such a loaded question when you think of it. We have come so far in society to where we now allow females to run for president. But the opportunity is much different for a woman than it is a man. How so? To be specific, men and women are not equal when it comes to many things, such as dictations of gender roles in households, unequal pay in the workplace, and gender inequality in political circles. One of the articles I read, discusses the gender differences in society and its effect on women today. Carli’s (1999) article addresses the constant power struggle in society in her work called, Gender, Interpersonal Power, and Social Influence. The sociological question in this article is whether men possess higher levels of power than women. How is it that a man can hold the same position as a woman, in the same company, having earned the same degree, yet the dollar amount the male earns is seemingly higher than the woman’s, even though it is the same amount of work? As a society, we have been conditioned to believe that the amount of effort and work women put into their jobs is less valuable than that of a man’s. More women are attending college and getting degrees, yet our progress since the women’s right movement has been so minimal. Society is more focused on the gender role of an individual

Gender discrimination and stereotypes have been around since the dawn of time. Throughout the centuries, it has always been believed that women should be confined to household and non-strenuous jobs such as: doing the housekeeping, raising children, tending to her husband’s every need, and teaching at schools. Gender discrimination is first illustrated in the Bible through 1st Timothy 2:12 by saying, “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over man; rather, she is to remain quiet” and also in Genesis 3:16, “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring

Even though women make up 49.6% of the world’s population, they are often viewed as being incapable of what men can do (Global Citizen). Sexism is a discrimination that is frequently expressed through society; however, women are also treated unequally in matters of economy and politics. As stated in the second paragraph of the United States Declaration of Independence, “... all men are created equal”; nevertheless, this statement has frequently been ignored (US History).