Traditional Gender Roles During The United States

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.”

Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. Gender roles are never comprehensive, even within a single country, and they are always historically and culturally unpredictable. Gender roles in the United States for one cultural group likely is not true for another cultural group. Similarly, gender roles in the United States have changed drastically over the time period. Gender roles has been the historical evolution from a single family income in which only the male spouse works and generates income, to dual family income or a family in which both spouses generate family income. The shifting gender roles in the past years has been huge. It happened so quickly

During the colonial times, men expected women to follow strict rules. Women could not cross certain boundaries in society, so they silently obeyed the rules that were provided before them. They had not have a public voice and had to follow certain restrictions. It was hard being a woman in the colonial times mostly due to the unequal rights and practices that were used. Women were expected to dress and act a certain way, or they would be disowned or punished. Disobeying was not taken lightly for the puritans and punishing those who disobey was mandatory. Women struggled with everyday life of obeying their fathers or husbands. Women were separated from men in categories such as jobs and responsibilities. They were told to stay inside the house and maintain the family all day. Women were labeled as weak and fragile through a man’s eyes. Women had standards that they had to follow in order to live a successful life, according to the puritans.

There were a few television shows that reinforce the traditional gender roles assigned to both men and woman. “I Love Lucy”, “The Jeffersons”, “Goodtimes”, “All in the Family”, “My Wife and Kids”, and “Fresh Prince of Bell Air” were all traditional gender role television shows. All of these shows had the men working and the women were taking care of everything at home. “The Jeffersons” were a little different than the rest because they had Florence there to do all of the housework and Mrs. Jefferson didn’t do much at all around the house unless she wanted to of course. Another show was “The Brady Bunch” this show was also different from the rest because although they had Alice there to help Ms. Brady because she had a lot of children,

Gender roles have progressed since the 1950s, and there is now more equality between genders. According to the encyclopedia Credo, “Gender roles are the set of expectations a society has about males and females. These expectations are multifaceted and include specifications about appearance, personality traits, emotions, interests, abilities, and occupations” (Blair and Lenton 1). The majority of people conform to those roles very early on, but sometimes the line blurs between masculinity and femininity. The fifties were known and classified as the era of stereotyping, but as we move forward the equality of the gender roles is more recognized. Women have had to deal with the rubbish of being stereotyped as the least important gender due to

Depending on the situation, if a task is viewed as more masculine, then the males of the family, when they come of age, are expected to complete them. On the other hand, if the task is viewed as more feminine, then the women in the households are expected to undertake those chores. The actions required in the family vary from household chores to providing for everyone. The most often talked about gender role in the Hispanic culture is the male in the family being the

Men and women who lived in Norway during the 1800’s both were restricted to specific roles in and outside of the household. However, rarely in the 1800’s did Victorian men and women share the same responsibilities. If they did, you may have seen the “women working alongside husbands and brothers in the family business” (Hughes, Gender roles in the 19th century). This makes women seem as if they are compared to men as “physically weaker” during the time period of the Victorian era (Hughes, Gender roles in 19th century). Also, this demonstrates how women supported men and built them up so that men could fully use all of their capabilities to be successful at their jobs. Without this supporting system underlying the men, their businesses may have

According to Giger, “in 2000, 70% of Mexican-American families were married couple families” (Giger, 2008). Of that 70%, 21% were female-headed households (Giger, 2008). That is significant. For one thing, this shows how far they have come as a culture, to assert female dominance in a household.

Today, women are believed to be equal to men however this was not always the case. During colonial times, women did not have the same roles as women do today; men and women had fixed roles in society. Roles between men and women do not exchange due to strict gender roles. Additionally, married women were not exactly considered as companions instead, as the husband’s property. Although gender roles were a significant issue among women in early America, another issue was the background of these women. Factors such as race, religion, geography/region, and social class were substantial to the extent of control a woman had over her own life. These factors significantly shaped the lives of these women. For instance, white women had differences

This soon changed after the 1960’s when women started to become more independent and realized that they could depend on themselves rather than a man. This was a turning point for most women which is the causation as to why so many Hispanic mothers have decided to raise a child on their own. In the article “Does Family Structure Matter? A Comparison of Adoptive, Two-Parent Biological, Single-Mother, Stepfather, and Stepmother Households” the author Jennifer Lansford helps us better understand the lives of different family households. While reading the article, I noticed how gender roles became reversed in certain households. For instance, in a single mother parent household, the mother took on the role of providing, protecting, caring, and nurturing the child. The article also demonstrates households where the mother’s occupation income was higher than the father’s occupation income. This led to the mother taking on the responsibility of providing more for her

Gender roles became so complex in the twentieth century due how society has changed what men and women should be like. Men take being strong and independent as a God given right to them, while females on the other hand have had to work their way up in order to be titled independently strong. From growing up to early adulthood I faced the conflict of constantly worrying about how society wants me shape myself as a dependent and self-confident which was the complete opposite of me.

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.

Throughout this paper I will be discussing the role of women in the American society. I will reference the importance of gender and gender inequality. The definition of gender aims to clarify for of all the historical framework of the topic, the role of women in the American society. The paper will lead from the role women were given around World War II and then transition into the role women can now choose in the American society today. Addition to the role of women I will also discuss the differences of how the genders are treated in the same places, for example work place. Men and women are culturally molded when referring to gender in the American society. The gender roles play a lead part into how the model family, education, and liberty are. The reason I chose to write about this topic is due to my strong belief that although I don’t agree with the characteristics society gave to gender, I do believe in gender equality.

Conventionally, females played a very insignificant role in the paid work force of a society as many times they were expected to be home taking care of their family. Their roles at home can often include grocery shopping, meeting all the needs of her children and husband. As time moved on, our society became more accepted of sharing housework between the couples, but even so, the traditionally more feminine housework such as cooking, caring for sick children, and shopping for the entire family are mostly done by the females of the house. It is argued in a research journal Work and Occupations (Witkowski & Leicht, 1995) that in an average North American family, females take on roughly three-quarters of the housework. Even though we are in a democratic society, parenting roles in the household are assigned based on gender rather than in a democratic fashion (Winslow-Bowe, 2009). Because of the many responsibilities and obligations that are associated with the female gender, their career paths are eventually affected for the worse. According to Statistics Canada (2001), for every dollar a man earns, a single woman earns 93 cents and a married woman earns 69 cents. These statistics

Women played vital roles in early America. Without them the new world would not have been as successful because they exemplified great strengths and although they came from different area and cultures they all had very similar roles dependent on race culture and region. There were a number of notable difference but those differences are those that made settlements successful.