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Gender Roles

Decent Essays

In our culture, we have this notion that men are better, more natural leaders than women. We see this in the fact that we have never had a female president, and that when we have a female elected to be a judge in the Supreme Court, it’s a big deal. Women and girls have always been told and taught to be docile and submissive, which is the exact opposite of what you want to see in a leader. Because of this, the idea that men make better leaders than women is a widely accepted fact. However, it is socially constructed and not true. The qualities that one wants to see in a leader are the same qualities that our society has forced us to expect from men. A leader should be someone who is strong minded, has good moral values, has innovative ideas, …show more content…

Our culture has created a divide between the genders. Women are perceived as docile, and fragile, while men are perceived as strong, and forceful. These ideas have been forced upon us since birth. Plante also talks about how newborn girls are described as small, delicate, and pretty, while newborn boys are tall, large, athletic and serious. (Plante). This gender divide is what has constructed our gender roles. They work in opposites. For example, because men are thought of as assertive, women are then thought of as passive. Or while women are seen as emotional, men are supposed to be stoic and lacking in emotion. And when you see a women admitting some of the qualities that we often identify with men, as with Hillary Clinton, she is criticized because she is going against the norm. In fact, often times the same traits that make a man outgoing and leadership material make women intimidating and …show more content…

By thinking this, we allow men to be in the position of power, while women are forgotten about. This is because our gender norms favor men being more outspoken and aggressive which puts them automatically in positions of power. Men are expected to be competitive and want to compete among themselves (Lorber). Whereas women are expected to just let things happen, and be passive. By putting this expectation on women, our society has effectively silenced them from being able to give their opinions and thoughts without ridicule. Because our gender norms dictate that women must be passive and docile, they cannot get angry without being labeled emotional, nor can they give their opinion or state their viewpoints without being seen as

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