Gender Roles in Society - Report Example

Gender Roles

Children discover from their parents and the entire society the conception of masculinity and feminism. A lot about these conceptions is not considered biological but rather are considered cultural. The way we as humans tend to think about women and men in relation to their gender roles within the society constitutes to the prevailing paradigm that has the ability to influence our thinking. Gender roles have been continuously changing within the Western Culture over the years. These changes have been created by evolutionary changes within the society as well as economic shifts that have changed the way people work and which people get to work as more women join the workforce. Gender relations are part and parcel of the socialization process which includes the initiation of the young within the society by teaching them certain values which tends to create certain behavioral patterns that are acceptable within the social roles. However, these roles have been in change within the American society over the recent years. In today’s society men and women can be seen having expanded their roles within the society (Lee, Janice, 115). Women are now joining the formerly male dominated areas and the men are also finding new ways to relate and function within the family unit.

Growing up I have learned to notice how the society’s policies and expectations for women and men are different; whereby men have standards and specific career objectives that they must attain in relation to how others would judge them within the society. It is essential for society to study what should be considered an appropriate way in terms of behaving while taking into consideration what is expected of them and what they would expect of others.

Gender can get defined as a social identity that consists of a role a person is to play depending on his or her sex. Consequently, there is diversity within male and female roles, this makes it impossible to define gender in terms of constricted female and male roles. Therefore, gender is culturally defined with a lot of significant differences that are dependant to culture. The role of women within the United States society is conditioned by religious attitudes as well as the conditions that have prevailed throughout the American history. The American and European culture has for centuries been based upon patriarchal systems that stipulated exclusive ownership of females be given to men and was considered important which implied women got viewed as property with no say in their own fate. In the past the girl child was taught from a young age to fit the role that awaited her in the future, consequently women were relatively content with their lifestyle (Lee, Janice, 118).

For instance in being a man’s property a woman receives economic security, full emotional support that centered on the children and the husband, while also affording the woman of the house the opportunity to express her capabilities within the management of her home.

Clearly throughout history women have been expected to be content with the sort of life provided for them. However, circumstances have continuously changed for family life within the modern era. Changes have been drastically taking place within the family structure and sex roles within the last century have managed to produce confusion that is seen in society today. One of the problems with the level of change in the role of women is the degree to which society perceives the result of the unwanted changes within the family. In the beginning of the 1990’s women faced a number of significant problems. However, women have managed to challenge the problems and have been able to alleviate despite not being able to fully deal with the problem.

The anxiety women feel has been fed all through history based on the practices of keeping women at home and limiting them to opportunities and options. One means that was utilized in denying women opportunities was by preventing women from the opportunity of gaining the type of education that is offered to men. However, despite the fact that this has now changed, women still experience inequalities in terms of opportunities offered to men as to those offered to women. Therefore it would be a mistake to consider the changing gender roles within the society as being threatening towards the males who dominate the society. Such changes within the society also prove difficult for women who abide by the more traditional role and would therefore see the change as a threat.

Therefore it would be true to say that there is a lot of evidence that would distinctively show how boys and girls are treated differently from birth which would be true within every world culture. Despite the fact that it may never be possible to take apart the precise effects of physiology including cultural conditions from humans (Sudha, 220). They have the power to individually influence people but also have the ability to affect each individual’s behavior. Therefore, the reason sexism exists is a result of the acculturation process that creates room for it. The opinion still remains the same in that women lack the ability to make it by conventional means or are rather not committed to doing so that being said some would conclude that they do not warrant the same investment in training and promotion opportunities as compared to men. The world’s evolution in regards to women’s worth and placement has over the years changed the traditional gender roles that many in the society have become accustomed to.

Throughout the world feminist have been calling out for change within various political climates. Feminist desire more than just having women in office or within various political arenas; they desire new forms of political thinking and one that empowers and addresses both the issues of men and women. If society would aim at eliminating false polarities while at the same time appreciating the limits and true potential of women within the society; we will be able to create a new era in politics and consequently move even further.

The view the public has held in regards to the role of men and women can be described as being outdated. However, public attitude has slowly been changing in this regard. Over 0 years ago anthropologist Margret Mead described how the Western world had developed it’s concept of men and women. Consequently there has been a habit within Western civilization of how men have a picture of womanhood in which women reluctantly conformed and for women making demands on men to which they reluctantly refused. This can be considered an accurate description in which society is structured, whereby women are the keepers of the house, while the men are the keepers of the wives and insist in them modestly staying indoors.

In today’s world society is far less willing to acknowledge such artificial roles. This includes the provision of keeping women within the homes and not affording them the opportunity within the public arena (Sudha, 220). Gender roles have continuously changed where men can no longer expect to be the only authority within their homes. Wives should also be afforded the opportunity to have their say whether on financial matter or within the parenting aspect. It is essential to provide a balance in such instances. This would provide a united front within the family, where neither man nor woman feeling trumped over by another’s authority. It is important to note that family values and gender roles tend to differ. Family values aim to teach how every individual has something to offer, whereas gender roles seek to narrow a individuals mind while at the same time influencing them to recognize the difference rather than the similarities in everyone they encounter. It is my opinion that gender roles should be done away with. This is because without gender roles disputes such as sexuality and racism would not be present day issues today. Consequently without gender roles anything would be considered possible within the society. Girls would be able to play football and boys could be ballerinas without being fearful. Without the realization of gender roles, the world could be viewed as an open book with a wide variety of possibilities for whoever lives in it.

Work Cited

Lee, Janice W. Gender Roles. New York: Nova Biomedical Books, 2005. Print.

Sudha, D K. Gender Roles. New Delhi: A.P.H. Pub. Corp, 2000. Print.

Das, Man S, and Vijay K. Gupta. Gender Roles and Family Analysis. New Delhi: M.D. Publications, 1995. Print.

Beal, Carole R. Boys and Girls: The Development of Gender Roles. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994. Print.