The Influence of Gender Roles

From a young age, our interactions with our parents play an instrumental role in how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid exhibits the relationship between an Antiguan mother and her daughter in a patriarchal society where the list of rules and regulations for women is exhaustive and almost never-ending. By analyzing the unique and often tense dynamic between the mother and daughter, “Girl” showcases the direct influence mothers have on their children, and how traditional and patriarchal customs can influence that relationship. The main themes are represented by the subjects the mother spends the most time on as well as the overall tone of the piece and how it relates to the mother-daughter

Carol Bailey says in her analysis, “By instructing the young female to follow the script, the speaker emphasizes the view that females’ survival depends on performing their gender “appropriately” in societies in which their adherence to these standards is constantly scrutinized and evaluated” (Bailey, Performance and the Gendered Body). The mother believes that people will judge her based on the way her daughter turns out. If her daughter can not carry herself like a lady is supposed to than she supposes her daughter will not survive in the world. During that time period, the seventies, that assumption was fair since women were not given credit for many things and did not have the independence they do have today in America. In support to that, Logan says, “This veiled advice makes the reader question if the female narrator is a conformist or if she is challenging societal stereotypes” (Logan, Rhetorical Analysis of Kincaid’s “Girl”). Stereotypes connect to the idea of femininity because people paint a picture of what girls and ladies are supposed to be and act. Therefore the mother says many things that only apply to females. Readers make assumptions that the mother was denied by society growing up and now she stresses her daughter for the very same reason. The assumption can be made because mothers typically are encouraging when giving advice

In both of the Short stories i've read by Jamaica Kincaid and Judith Ortiz Cofer the author uses a young girl, both of those females were given a series of instructions on how they should live their life, in my opinion both characters in the story were being stereotyped on how a girl should live. In the story “Girl” by Kincaid she illustrates a Caribbean Mother giving advice to her young daughter, in the story she describes to her the manner on how to act like a Female, how to do household work and cook correctly. The mother actions intends to help her daughter, After reading the story by Jamaica Kincaid I believe that that the mother feels her daughter needs to act more like a female and not the slut she plans on becoming. The author uses a chastising tone which was illustrated throughout the whole story when she scolds her daughter. In “The myth of the Latin woman: I just met a girl named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, She primarily talks about stereotyping and how the American culture was different from her home country Puerto Rico , the narrator also expresses how she lived as a girl growing up. Jamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer.

Study on gender role stereotypes has shown that there are several negative effects of stereotyping. The study on how gender role stereotyping effects children is not as prevalent because most believe that it doesn’t matter, since children are just forming their stereotype so children do not care. However, some psychologists have done some research on it, and from their research found out that children used a mixture of moral and social conventional reasoning

The entire story is a list of what a women should be and not be. Even though the list is boring and uninteresting to read, it demonstrates what a real daughter mother relationship is like. Kincaid does not specifically state that the speaker is a mother, but the speaker is identified as mother because she has to follow the list herself. It is the mother’s responsibility to teach her daughter

The idea of gender roles has been prominent throughout not only American History, but world history as well. Everyone understands that men are the ones who provide for their family while women are responsible for household work such as taking care of the children, cleaning, and cooking. The United States has come a long way in demolishing these gender constructs from presenting women the right to vote to recent strives in pop culture such as Benny’s gender crushing single and music video, Little Game, but the nation is still not quite to the point of completely shattering the often harmful gender roles that are set upon children and adults in society. As a means to prevent damage to future generations, parents should not assign gender roles to their children at birth.

Jamaica Kincaid’s powerful short story ‘Girl’ is a mother daughter dispute. The mother lists several tips trying to give advice and counsel her daughter. The way the mother expresses her advice I would not consider as motherly, but more as if she was a social critic. I visualize the mother as a representation of the damage that society can do to a person’s mind.

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women, while sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women (World Health Organization). It means gender is overall role, their attitude and activities which is affected by society and cultures and it is regulated people have a different roles between men and women. For example, in the past, people believe that men are strong and responsible for their family by working outside to make a comfortable living with them, whereas women tend to be obedient to their husband and scarify themselves by doing housework. For this reason that women could not have many chances

In terms of shaping a child the family unit is where this begins and has a great influence. Open discussions between family and child gives opportunity to speak about things such as sexuality, relationships, and religion can be helpful in forming their identity. A child who is raised in a family that is very united can build their confidence. Families who participate in activities such as family chores, camping or community service can help children in their adulthood by using the skills they’ve learned or practiced. Childrens political choices can be shaped by open duscussions that take place with their families. Such discussions can challenge children. Gender role can also be influenced by family. The way parents view gender roles most likely

This commercial, made by Verizon, illustrates a girl that has interest in the science fields. At first, she is going against all social norms. She has a hobby of doing stuff that are not usually expected from girls. Unfortunately, around the end, she adapts to the social norms which results in her losing interest in her hobbies and she also loses a part of herself.

Gender roles are a stereotype of what society deems acceptable for boys and girls to behave. The social norms for young girls are for them to like dolls, kitchen play sets and pink, and young boys should like truck, building things and toys tools.(Golombok,1993) When the boys and girls do not match the typical roles they are seen as unusual. At an early age boys are to be seen as more aggressive and dominant and girls are to be seen as dainty and delicate. Some parents will unintentionally put their child into these roles because this is what they were taught also. Should children at a young age be expected to fall into these simple roles? Are children taught to be in these roles? Will these created simple

Throughout the years and years that society has lived out today, men have undoubtedly been glorified and held in high esteem for their accomplishments, character, and influence. Man has become a symbol of power, with masculinity becing associated with positive attributes such as strength, intelligence, and control. Femininity however, has been regarded as weak, superficial, and vacuous. Such an outlook on gender roles has resulted in an unequal power dynamic and an increasing deprecating view of the woman and her capabilities. Under represented in not only the media but also many governing bodies, women have continually been oppressed and subject to constant misogynstic transgreesions, the results of whcih have not only affected their lives and possible opportunies, but also their self worth and the way they see the worth of others.

Gender roles are extremely important to learn about, as they can be incredibly harmful. They limit a person’s individuality, prevent people from truly expressing themselves and their feelings, and negatively affect people’s mental health. The following statement describes some of the different types of gender roles: “The strongest gender stereotypes for women were that theory are more emotional, aware of others’ feelings, kind and warm than men, and more likely to look after the house, and cry, Haines said. The strongest gender stereotypes for men were that they are more competitive, feel superior, and that they should be head of household and responsible for household repairs” (Beall, p. 24-25). Essentially, women are supposed to be warm

In short terms, gender roles essentially are social expectations that prescribe how both genders are supposed to act, think, speak and engage with other individuals. Gender roles impact the way families function whether it’s traditional or non-traditional. As said by Wienclaw (2015), even though the 21st-century has shown a continuous change in the way gender roles apply, some basic traditional gender roles are still active in a lot of families. To elaborate, the basic traditional roles for males are dominant, aggressive, strong, speedy and successful. The basic traditional roles for females are sensitive, submissive, emotional and intuitive. Every generation has their own expectations as to how each gender should act, but today’s society is more open-minded than those in the past. Gender-roles are common, mainly because of socialization which starts right after birth. During the adolescent stage, children conform to gender roles that rest on their biological sex. According to my family, all of them followed the traditional gender roles but later in life, some of their roles shifted to non-traditional.

Gender roles in today’s world are now simply defined by how one feels and can change on a dime. In spite of this false reality, there are indeed biological differences between men and women and therefore, biological differences between mothers and fathers. Do these biological differences make an impact when we look at the care given to an infant or child? I argue that it may not necessarily be as biological as it is the definitions of roles our society and even our own households have placed on the roles of mother and father.