Gender Inequality and Gender Stratifications - Essay Example

Gender inequality is one of the most pivotal points of emphasis and observation in American dis Gender stratifications are defined as social inequalities between men and women. Gender inequality remains to be a focal point for several reasons. Gender role is an intriguing subject that takes into account of several aspects. One can argue that gender roles emerge from culture due to various reasons. Cultures adhere to gender roles because they assign responsibilities to each gender based on family needs. For example, women in eastern cultures have to follow the cult of domesticity. The cult of domesticity is a generic phrase for women to stay at home, clean the house, cook the food, and raise the children. In this model, the men are the bread winners. Since women rely on men for financial support, it is almost unorthodox for women to work outside the house. The idea of gender disparity in school, government and overall progression of women is clearly hindered in these cultures. These same issues have become the focal points that factored into gendered inequality for Malian Minianka women. These factors consisted of culture norms, sexuality, marriage and kinship. Without a doubt, one of the challenges for Malian Minianka women was to break the culture norms that dominated the perception of women. Culture in essence defines the dynamic components of family and social values. The idea of gender discourse was so prevalent throughout America that it sparked a cry for reformation. The ideology of the Republican Motherhood, was one of the original groups, that challenged the lack of development of female secular education because it dramatically sifts away from the traditional mindset (Week 6, Lecture 2). The second aspect that challenged women were child rearing and birth. Mothers, in their aspect of nurturing are responsible for showing the ropes of behavior to their children in this culture. Malian Minianka sheds some key highlights on how political domesticity has impacted the true notion of the evolving role of women (Week 7, Lecture 3). Although women were induced at home, they created a strong environment that harnessed and cultivated growth. I think one of the aspects that people fail to acknowledge is the fact that mothers have strong emotions. The mutual connection between mothers and children is awe-inspiring. One can only imagine the hardships that each mother undergoes during pregnancy and birth (Week 6, Lecture2). From this context, Spocks book represents an advance in salutary counsel for care of the young. This can be witnessed in the passage as Monique states, “How long will the labor starts?” The women replies, “Since early this morning.” Monique questions back by stating, “How old is she?” The answer gloomed her as the girl was only 17 (Monqiue and Mango Rains, 15). A huge challenge in this issue was childbirth. It is imperative to say the least that childbirth continues to be a challenge in a least developed country because of lack of resources. The concept of family has changed dramatically over several decades in America. Kin terms reflect social relationships that we have with other family members. For example, the term father is not only used for a person’s biological father, but a step-father, his wife’s father, or even a priest. In regards to family, women were regarded to be inferior. In essence, the opinion of a woman in her household only was correlated to domestic affairs. However with social times changing because of the industrial revolution, women opinions began to matter and expand beyond domestic affairs. One of the most critical concepts to understand regarding cult of domesticity is the fact that women were bound by moral virtues that defined a women. These are the same virtues that Malian women have to life with because of cultural norms. For instance, a women’s purity was considered to be the greatest virtue. In essence, these virtues clearly defined a women’s standards that dictated “cult of domesticity. Another huge attribute that defines Malian women during the era is piety itself Women were not supposed to challenge the mainstream norms of religion and culture as they were to abide their husbands. Again, this drastically changed as women challenged these values of being bounded in a “private sphere.” According to narrative, these were the morals dictated the moral code that woman should abide by. This clearly stunned Monique because she knew the that girl was only a child and that all her life will be dedicated to giving birth. The fact that mortality rates were so little not to mention the empirical effects of giving birth is only one testament that women faced many trials and tribulations In regards to child rearing, one of the biggest challenges for women was the economy itself. The idea of cult of domesticity has dramatically been diminished as women have acquired roles in professional fields and have adapted to be single parents. Monqiue clearly states the condition of the economy as she states, “Mali is one of the economically poorest countries in the world. In fiscal speak this means the average Malian earns $210 US a year” (Monique and Mango Rains, 13). It was clear that due to the poor economy and lack of industrialization that Mali was a country that was still stuck in old age. Moreover, it was clear that women were married at 18 years of age and had almost 7 children during their lifetime. This can be accounted for many reasons. First and foremost, contraception are considered a taboo for males (KH 11). Culturally, Malian women are considered to adhere to their husband needs whenever. Due to the cultural norms, Malian women had struggles to face adversity to fight for their rights. Another huge challenge for Malian women at this time period was the fact that economically, the country struggled to grow. In essence, Malian women were never as fortunate as their counterparts in other parts of the world such as Europe and America. Since the economy of the country continues to be urban, gender roles are enforced. Without the advent of industrialization and technology, Malian women never left the domestic affairs(KH 12). Hence, there were no collaborative efforts of feminist groups to form. Kinship was a huge concept that Malian women faced adversity in. As mentioned above, Malian women had around 8 kids in average. This became problematic as cultural traditions for a good family expanded. This can be explicitly stated as she states, “So she weaned the child right away and put her on adult food. The girl had diarrhea ever since. I told her and the other mothers about the importance of not weaning abruptly, and about the importance of putting more time between their pregnancies. These are very, very common problems here.” It was clear that kinship and family were being defined as quantity of offspring. It was perplexing to say the least considering the fact that families were poor. Additionally, these were the cultural norms that the bigger the family, the more blessings or barakah the family will get (Monqiue and Mango Rains, 15). If there was any collaborative efforts that can be conducted, feminist groups even in an urban country can rose to the challenge and demanded statutory laws that allowed them better working conditions (KH 13). A challenge itself, it would have challenged the current norms. One of the focal points if the debate was to ensure that women get the same fair pay as men were getting. This challenged the whole concept of gender roles of women themselves. Suddenly, women were running for politics, administrative roles, and leadership positions that extended beyond simple labor work. This feministic movement depicted a challenge that was unheard of before. It is quite pivotal to understand that American political movements were key catalyst to channel social reform as well. Undoubtedly, women faced many trials and tribulations that defined gender roles. Women were also shunned from expressing their sexuality, which today is considered to be a norm. The evolution of gender stratification becomes a pivotal point in understanding the history becomes critical to understand the progressive movement of women itself. It becomes a manifestation of society’s ever-lasting perception of change has been modified during decades of history. Works Cited Fisher,A.R. & Holz, KB (2007) Perceived discrimination and women’s psychological distress: the roles of collective and personal self esteem. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 154-164   Klonoff, E.A. Landrine,H &Scott,J (1995) Double Jeopardy: Ethnicity and gender in health research. In H. Landrine (ED.) Bring cultural diversity to feminist psychology: theory research and practice (pp.335-360) Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association  Mill, J. S. (199). The subjection of women. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue. Read More