Are Women Culturally Different than Men - Assignment Example

Designation Lesson Assignment 2 Are Women Culturally Different than Men? In the contemporary society, it is evident that women and men are culturally distinct. One of the major contributing factors to cultural differences between men and women, in the same society, is the significant role played by the role-theory in ensuring that men and women learned their roles through what society prescribed to them instead of allowing individuals in either gender to describe their own roles by defining their own path (Epstein 828). Hence, the differences are a result of what the society prescribes on either gender with the society identifying various roles according to femininity or masculinity, which consequently contributes to gendered differences and considerably contributes to gender inequality. Other than the role-theory, the society reinforces sex role to enforce cultural differences between men and women within a society with these differences ensuring that one gender was provided with more opportunities for success than the other gender. In fact, the society has identified the way that the behavior, thought-process, and feeling of either gender were different with the society identifying various situations in which each gender fitted in, which consequently promoted the cultural differences between men and women in the same society. Buchwald, Fletcher and Roth (1995) noted that a rape culture is a culture in which there is evidence of a complex set of beliefs in which men are perpetually encouraged to be sexually aggressive towards their female counterparts since the society appears to be supportive of the actions by males. Primarily, the social construct that men and women are different is the cause of the behavior in men. In the same society, whereby there is a rape culture, there is support for violence against women with the males appearing to be the dominant gender and their actions being aggressive to the female gender (qtd. in Garton 17). In the contemporary society, it is evident that activities that are obvious from various channels are an apparent promotion of violence against women. In this case, there is evidence to suggest that men are more superior to their female counterparts with their superiority making them more aggressive towards women, which leads to the culture of rape. Primarily, a rape culture is attributable to non-biological social constructs of power and inequality. In this case, the society construes men as more powerful than their female counterparts. For example, it is common knowledge that the media usually typifies a woman as a weaker gender than a man who is usually depicted as more powerful and aggressive, in nature, than females. Over and over again, the media portrays men as the dominant gender with women appearing fragile and subordinates to males. This portrayal becomes ingrained in the society since everyday language practices enhance the relations of power, dominance over others, and exploitation that becomes reproduced in different forms with one of these fundamental forms being the male domination of females, which becomes legitimized and leads to the rape culture as evidenced in the contemporary society. Tileaga identifies “social inequality as both interactive and communicative” and further notes that it is “located within the cultural and discursive practices of society” (481). In this regard, it is important to point out that social inequality contributes to one gender being dominant over the other. In effect, the dominance of one gender makes it behave in a manner that appeared as suppressive to the other gender since the media and other elements appear to legitimize the notion that the male gender is more superior to the female gender. Thereafter, this legitimization contributes to the rape culture with men behaving in a manner that befitted what the society expected of them with rape being a way of showing their dominance over women. In a rape culture, the society views violence as something that is sexy with sexuality appearing to be violent. Hence, women undergo various unpleasant sexual behaviors ranging from sexual remarks to other issues related to sexual touching and even rape, in worst case scenarios. This is evident in the contemporary society in which a rape culture tolerates emotional and physical assault among women with this becoming a norm. Interestingly, most men are sympathetic of rape towards women after it is perpetrated to another man. Only then do men become aware of the menacing gazes that women receive while they walk; the snide remarks from their male counterparts; and other experiences that could easily pass as sexual harassment in a world whereby male domination allows men to behave violently against women while thinking that their behavior is what the society expects of them. It is instructive to note that many women have been victims of sexual harassment if not victims of sexual molestation with rape being the main form of sexual molestation that women face. Despite the issue being distressful to women, it is crucial to point out that some women who undergo these experiences fail to take notice of such incidents. In fact, women who do not tolerate the sexual talks and touches are usually branded by the society as lacking a sense of humor or being overly sensitive to ‘minor issues’ and others being viewed as uncooperative to a societal norm or even being considered weak, which promotes the rape culture in the society. Consequently, women participate in making rape culture a common phenomenon in the society by maintaining silence over forms of sexual harassment with these forms bearing out sexual molestation in form of rape once women maintain silence. Garton noted that this “enables perpetrators to psychologically push the envelope, breeding detachment, muting humanity and silencing conscience, rendering power over women not only acceptable but intrinsic to cultural interplay and apparently fulfilling the indicators of a rape culture” (17). In a rape culture, women are complicit in their own subjugation since they result into physical, emotional, financial, and sexual submission and are controlled and abused by males as a result of what they are made to believe by the society. Moreover, the contemporary celebrity culture teaches women to accept that sexual remarks that were both suggestive and offensive are compliments and not meant to cause harm to women. This aspect of submission gains ground when the society dismisses reports of sexual harassment and assault from popular people. On the other hand, it is a common occurrence for the society to find fault in a woman who is a victim of rape and highlight ‘her mistakes’ in aspects such as the way she was dressed during a rape incident. In this case, women adopt the lesson taught by the society asking them not to get raped rather than the society asking men not to rape, which contributes to the extension of the rape culture. The most important solution to rape and gender inequality is by focusing on societal change attitudes that package the man as a superior being than the women since this allows men to become violent and sexually assault women. Besides, such behavior should be stopped by engaging in a discourse about stopping gendered stereotypes that promote the notion that it is a woman’s fault once they were raped since this language becomes continuously perpetuated and legitimized by the society. However, civil education should educate the society on the dangerous effects of gender inequality and the harmful effects of a rape culture. On the other hand, it is important for women to learn about their rights and stand firm for what they think is right. Besides, it is important for women to be taught at a young age that they could achieve various fetes that their male counterparts could also achieve. This way, young girls and boys could grow knowing that no single gender is superior to the other, which will solve the issue of gender equality. Works Cited Epstein, Cynthia Fuchs. "The Gendered Society." Contemporary Sociology 29 .6 (2000): 828- 829. Print. Garton, Moira Byrne . "Fifty shades of rape culture." EurekaStreet.com.au 22.19 (2012): 17-16. Print. Tileaga, Cristian. "Discourse, Dominance and Power Relations: Inequality as a Social and Interactional Object." Ethnicities 6.4 (2006): 476-497. Print. Read More