Observing the Nature of Gender - Essay Example

In the end, “It was no ordinary thing that called her away-- it was probably farther from ordinary than anything that had ever happened in Dickson County. But what her eye took in was that her kitchen was in no shape for leaving; her bread all ready for mixing, half the flour sifted and half unsifted,” (Cook, p. 257). To epitomize the choice that many within the woman’s movement would be faced with, “Even after she had her foot on the door-step, her hand on the knob, Martha Hale had a moment of feeling she could not cross that threshold.

And the reason it seemed she couldn't cross it now was simply that she hadn't crossed it before,” (Cook, p. 258). Ultimately, the choice of whether or not to enter into a new aspect of public life that may have been unimaginable up until that very moment. Not only feeling the responsibility to stay with that which would have been known but to also have the opportunity to experience new things at the same time. For children, they are often faced with the position of determining their gender roles in society, not only in terms of how they see themselves but also, how they take those perceptions and translate them into how they ultimately see others around them that they encounter.

As a group of the human race that tends to be far more impressionable than those who would be older, the ability to enforce those roles within their own cultural groups is oftentimes aided by their understanding of what either gender is expected to do and expected to be. In terms of the issue as to whether or not most children would follow such role definitions, for the most part, some children would seek to do so and some would wish to re-evaluate their role within the world and would create a different path for themselves.

Within the last 50 years, the roles of men and women have changed to a degree. With more and more women entering into the workforce and more men electing to stay at home with their children, the traditional roles of the genders would change their appearance, while not entirely, to some degree in comparison to how they were before. In general, men have for many years, been seen as the stronger of the two genders and as a result, have a tougher expectation placed upon them, in terms of expressing such things as emotion.

“In addition to age, gender is one of the universal dimensions on which status differences are based. Unlike sex, which is a biological concept, gender is a social construct specifying the socially and culturally prescribed roles that men and women are to follow,” (“Gender and Society”, p. 1). In many cases, the expectations are closely followed. With the nation’s economy facilitating the change, to whatever degree, in the execution of previously held gender roles, the greater issue would remain one that would continue to be debated.

In the end, “..Gender roles can be defined as the behaviors and attitudes expected of male and female members of a society by that society,” (“Gender roles”, p.1). The societal expectation of an individual to behave in a certain manner, based upon the cultural acceptance of their role in life from a larger social spectrum to consider.