Japanese Interpersonal Relationships

The roles of men and women in society, though they vary slightly from culture to culture, have been forged in such a way that that they have been ingrained in us, while being nothing more than a social construct, and we appear to be unable to shake them. Although we do try to be accepting of change, the very thought of an adjustment in our perceived gender roles typically results in a reaction that is a cross between a cringe for some and a furrowed brow for others.

In a society, gender roles are the roles that are restricted to males or females on the basis of their sexism. Conventionally, in numerous societies including the western society, it is supposed that females are more encouraged at any platform than the males. It is believed that for the development of a society, females should be treated in an encouraged way because encouragement of the females help in the betterment of society. Earlier, it was considered that females should remain at home and they should maintain the household things rather than working outside because outside work is only for the males, but it was a traditional way of treating women, which has been changed now.

As a country, we have come a long way to reaching equality between women and males. During the 19 centuries women fought for their right to vote. When talking about gender, there are a lot issues that continue to be present until this day. Women had to fight for equality during the 19 century which lead up women in today’s society to have a voice. Despite of all the improvement close to gender equality, society still expect particular things from females and males.

Throughout life every man and woman fits into a specific gender role. We are told what is expected of men and women from birth until death. Many people influence our view of how we should act and what we should say such as our parents, friends, and even the media. Males and females play very different roles and these differences are apparent in our every day lives. These differences are not the same as they used to be. Society has changed the way it treats men and women over time.

Japanese and American culture differs in a plethora of ways, but also have several similarities, Showing that no matter how different people are they still have some sort of common ground. Japanese culture is based off of long held traditions that are derived from ancient Japan. American culture, however, is ever changing due to the nature of American society. Japanese culture favors those who conform, while punishing those who are different. On the other end of the spectrum, American culture applauds those who are different. Japanese and American cultures have drastically different social hierarchy and family roles while still having similarities in pop culture.

When I go to India, I see my aunts and uncles fitting almost perfectly into these gender roles of men and women. The men have some sort of job, while the women are always full time housewives. Their mothers were housewives, and their mother’s mothers were housewives as well. What is different about them? Because they are bombarded with the roles they should fulfil, they feel obligated to fill them. This reinforces the concept that individuals develop based off of what they are told and the environment that they were brought up in. It is not only the women that are being held to specific roles, it is also the men! In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Tea Cake says “Ah need no assistance to help me feed mah woman” when Janie offered some of her money to help (Hurston 128). Because Tea Cake felt obligated as a man to support himself and his family, he would not take any of the money that was sitting idly in Janie’s bank account. This shows that men, just like women, developed based off of the environment that they were brought up in. These masculine values were instilled in Tea Cake, most likely as a young child. If he did not keep this role as breadwinner, he would be shamed and looked down upon.

Gender roles is a problem that takes place in both the workplace, domestic conditions, and society. Often signified through the age-old stereotype. That men are required of the more "challenging" or more "advanced" jobs, while women restrict themselves to the less grueling and less beneficial positions. Terms such as "that 's a man 's job" is a leading cause of inequality in the workplace. Not to mention, gender roles and standards are set in the homes of many families everywhere. The so-called "picture perfect family" situation; the husband goes to work while the wife stays home to tend to the children. While romanticized as ideal, this concept is the very essence of a patriarchal society. Meanwhile, the brutally vicious society we live in often berates women 's self-esteems in more way than one. Stereotypes of beauty, or who are skinny, pretty, white, and wealthy, are unfortunately the ideal standard of women and

For centuries, there have been many societies with stereotypical gender roles that usually involve the men holding the positions of power and the women doing the domestic chores. Historically, men are usually considered to be the stronger of the two sexes and in most societies, it is up to the men to take care of the family. During the twentieth century, women in America began breaking boundaries when they earned the right to vote. More recently, there has been a breakthrough with gender roles as women are beginning to take charge in the workplace. Now, gender roles are not as defined and clear.

Society has established roles in which differentiate men and women, by focusing on how they, as individuals, should portray different characteristics. This allows for the opportunity of mislead perceptions, by the displays of gender in an unequal manner. If a man shows any characteristics that only a woman should have, he may be seen as weaker or maybe even deviant. This is true for a woman too, as that if she portrays too much aggression or competitive characteristics, she may be too manly, instead of fulfilling what should be her more nurturing role. Both men and women seem to face gender inequality, not just one more than the other. They both can face criticism, unequal treatment and stereotypes based on whether they choose to follow the exact way society has classified the gender “norms.” Although society has created these labels, it solely comes down to the individual on whether or not they choose to be deviant against them completely, in some ways, or simply not at all.

When examined, gender roles have remained traditional in certain aspects. However, there is a place where traditional gender roles are not being excepted as they once were. Sadly, not everyone excepts that it is becoming more egalitarian.In the United States, women reported that they experienced one to two sexist incidents each week (Gervais, Hillard, & Vescio, 2010). These are either verbal or nonverbal behaviors that people were presented to them (Gervais, Hillard, & Vescio, 2010). With that aside, a man and woman who are in a relationship are starting to have more flexible roles.

Popular Culture in the form of media does not always do a fair job of reflecting accurate characteristics of men and women. Society has added to this by creating what is known as gender roles among men and women. They are like a type of social guidelines which men and women follow in order to be accepted by today's society. Although this was designed with the best intentions it can have negative results.

From the beginning of time the male and female have been expected to perform certain roles in society. Males have been expected to work and provide for their family while the female raises the children, cooks, cleans and keeps the house in order. Today many women have broken that tradition and are starting their careers and becoming more independent. Even though females today are braking away from that stereotype, they are being discriminated in the work place because there are still individuals out there that believe that women should play a certain role and that they are not strong enough to work in a cooperation or

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

Gender socialization and gender roles have always existed in society. When analyzing gender roles, they are not always equal or consistent when comparing cultures, however, the expectations of females and males are often times clearly defined with a little to no common area. The Japanese culture is an example of the defined gender roles that change over time. According to Schafer (2010), because “gender roles are society’s expectations of the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of males and females”, they must be taught (p.357). These roles define how females and males are viewed in society, their household, and workplace. When examining gender socialization in the Japanese culture, it is important to analyze how gender roles are

Thus, more and more profound changes are taking place in the traditionally and social construction of gender roles according to sex, leading to a conception of the masculine and differentiated and hierarchical in terms of importance, according to which they were attributed to the man roles and responsibilities in the public domain, livelihoods, and results orientation, Competitiveness, and strength, and to women 's private, home-based and family-based roles, on the basis of In more emotional and relational characteristics