Gender and aging: How does gender roles affect women - Research Paper Example

Gender and aging: How gender roles affect women “Gender splitting is considered the most significant form of conflict that pertains to the established division existing between the sexes, such as masculine and feminine or male and female” (Espinosa, 2008). The concept of gender splitting explains the experiences of my grandmother that she had while growing up. Both men’s and women’s roles were clearly defined. My grandmother worked with a rug making company after getting married, thus intertwining the roles of homemaker as well as provider, that is known as gender splicing.

Gender splicing has improved over the passage of time, yet it was almost non-existent when the my grandmother was young. Both men and women were obliged to follow the roles and responsibilities that had been assigned to them by the society at large. Back in the days when my grandmother was young, a woman was appreciated for her good looks and for managing the family well since the way she presented herself projected the image of the whole family upon the outsiders. People appreciated women for managing their family wells, and not for earning money like their husbands.

My grandmother revealed that when she was young, she was bound to get married. Marriage for women was not something they could afford not to choose. Every girl that was nearing youth was obvious to get married, and girls also understood this reality. Accordingly, they were prepared for the challenges lying ahead in the married life. My grandmother told that she was lucky to have such a family after marriage where she was respected by the in-laws. This essentially means that although my grandmother was lucky, yet other women in her time were not quite as lucky.

Women knew that they might not be well-respected by the in-laws after marriage and yet they had no choice but to get married. “[T]he fixed-role hypothesis…is based on the traditional role expectations of males and females” (Whaley, 2009, p. 147). My grandmother was aware of the distinct roles and responsibilities of men and women right from the early childhood. The society had inculcated a very strong sense of gender splitting in my grandmother. She grew up in a society that had clearly demarcated the boundaries between men and women.

While men were supposed to be the bread-earners for the family, women were expected to manage the home and keep the family happy. Women were not encouraged to go out of the home and work. If a woman opted to work, she would essentially do two jobs, one outside the home, and the other inside the home. Role compatibility means an individual’s ability to struggle with different identities simultaneously (roletransformations.com, 2012). My grandmother displayed excellent skills of role compatibility by doing job along with taking care of her family.

The roles assigned to men and women according to the information revealed by my grandmother were compatible with the individualistic strengths of men and women. Men are physically stronger and emotionally more stable as compared to women, so they were expected to go out of the home and earn money. On the other hand, women are delicate and beautiful, so they were expected to stay within the home and look beautiful while completely fulfilling all their duties and responsibilities within the home.

These duties included but were not limited to cooking, washing and cleaning. It is generally observed that women perform better in these areas than men, so the roles were quite compatible with the traits of the two genders. Gender depolarization means deviation from the traditional roles assigned to men and women by the society and culture. “Gender depolarization is further reflected in the growing concern among social commentators and moralists about “masculinization” of women and “feminization” of men” (Kern, 2011, p. 10). My grandmother experienced gender depolarization to some extent by doing job along with making and taking care of her family since working outside home is conventionally considered only men’s duty.

Although my grandmother said that life would have been easier had she been a man, yet she does not express any regret or dissatisfaction over being a woman. She is determined to live life happily in the coming years as well and not depend on others. References: Espinosa, M. J. (2008, Dec.). Melanie Klein: a psychobiographical study. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/52321068/15/Gender-splitting. Kern, S. (2011). The Modernist Novel: A Critical Introduction. UK: Cambridge University Press.

roletransformations.com. (2012). Role Transitions LLC. Retrieved from http://www.roletransformations.com/. Whaley, B. B. (2009). Explaining Illness: Research, Theory, and Strategies. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.