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How Gender Roles Affect The Physical And Emotional Heath Of Parents And Families

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Gender roles play a major role in today’s society, and have throughout our history. Gender roles are a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived gender. In this paper I will address how gender roles negatively impacts the physical and emotional heath of parents and families, and recommend solutions to the problem.

Women in contemporary American society see their role as provider as part of their obligation. Almost seventy-one percent of women with children are in the workforce (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010). Currently, there are more mothers who are working outside the home than there are who are …show more content…

Bignet and Gerhardt (2014) found that the following leads to role strain in nonegalitarian relationships: the division of family work is inequitable because male partners fail to contribute more time to house-work or child care when women are employed. Traditional gender-role orientations and philosophies continue to determine what work is done by whom, even after women have been employed outside the home. Most women would like their partners to be more involved in household responsibilities and child care. Role stain or overload has negative implications for women’s health and well-being because they are constantly multitasking and juggling roles. Some men identify more with their work role than they do with a balanced work and family identity. (pg. 217)

The effects of women’s employment on the couple’s marital adjustment is an issue because gender roles still exist in our society. Because of changes in the United States economy, there has been a change in gender roles, but they are still being socialized. A lot of girls are still being taught that they are the ones that are supposed to do the cooking and cleaning. After a certain age, if a woman does not know how to cook she gets remarks such as “you are not going to be able to find a husband if you cannot cook”. A lot of boys are still taught that they are the ones that are supposed to be the financial provider and the protector. Because of this, a lot of women are still

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