Traditional Gender Roles In Society

Society today places many ideals when it comes to proper behaviours regarding gender roles. These are considered societal norms that are widely debated and controversial. Society has created a norm, which encompasses specific expectations and rules that change the daily lives of men and women, giving them specific tasks and behaviours to abide by. These standards are known as gender roles, which are defined as distinguishing actions, thoughts, and feelings of males and females. Gender roles are said to be a result of nature, which is a natural process, every male or female is to follow. On the other hand it can be a result of nurture, which changes ones way of thinking and adapting their lifestyle to fit their environment. Either way gender roles are a part of someone’s life from the moment of their birth, as they develop, and long after that, this proves that gender roles are influential to a person’s life and development. This essay examines how media such as music, family life, and different parenting styles encompass gender roles and teaches behaviours regarding them. Therefore, gender roles define males and females are a result of nurture and not nature.

There were a few television shows that reinforce the traditional gender roles assigned to both men and woman. “I Love Lucy”, “The Jeffersons”, “Goodtimes”, “All in the Family”, “My Wife and Kids”, and “Fresh Prince of Bell Air” were all traditional gender role television shows. All of these shows had the men working and the women were taking care of everything at home. “The Jeffersons” were a little different than the rest because they had Florence there to do all of the housework and Mrs. Jefferson didn’t do much at all around the house unless she wanted to of course. Another show was “The Brady Bunch” this show was also different from the rest because although they had Alice there to help Ms. Brady because she had a lot of children,

Society expects men to be brave and strong. They are expected to be in charge of their families by making the most important decisions and supporting them financially meanwhile, women are dependent and cannot achieve much by themselves. One can go back to after 8000 BC and see that men hunted animals meanwhile women stayed at home to care for their children and gather fruits and plants (Reilly). All of the early imposed leadership expectations have been a part of what has shaped the gender expectations in the present society. Even though men and women are capable of performing the same tasks, traditional gender roles keep both genders away from gaining social equality. One can see a difference when both genders are compared in education, employment, child care, domestic duties, and marriage. Although women have made many advances leading up to the amount of equality present in the 21st century, men still manage to have more rights and do not have to fight for equality.

Broadly conceptualized, gender roles are what our society expects and values in their community. They shape our behavior and values, thoughts and feelings, even going so far as to denote a person’s worth. Gender roles are present in everyday situations. In the past they strictly dictated the behavior of people in the community (the right to vote, occupations women were allowed to work in), though in the recent past have become more subtle and more successfully challenged. In some instances they are learned consciously, in others they are more subtly ingrained in our lives. Put simply, they are ubiquitous not only in intimate partner violence, but in almost every part of our lives.

In the US, values are often based on outdated traditional gender ideals that no longer fit our culture. It should be taught in society to accept someone who may not have the same interests that match their traditional gender role. In order to keep the US from continuing on the path of a more angry and judgemental country, we need to make it clear to both men/boys and women/girls, that its okay to be both strong and sensitive. It needs to be shown to everyone that there isn’t anything wrong with liking something considered ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’

For years society has been setting double standards for men and women and placing them in gender roles. Most of us have been raised to believe that women should take care of the home and children, while men financially support the family. This is a false belief that one gender is better than the other at their pre-assigned gender roles. In actuality not only are gender roles being erased, but genders themselves.

When comparing the roles of women and men from the earliest ages in humanity, the roles of men has remained relatively the same for generations, while women’s roles have undoubtedly undergone tremendous reforms. The traditional roles of women could be exhibited as early as the Paleolithic age, in the era of hunter-gatherers where women were to stay near their dwellings and gather crops while the men were to go out and hunt animals to feed the family. This notion developed into the traditional roles of men being the protectors and breadwinners of the family and women being the mothers and caretakers which were known up until the mid-1900s, when this outlook began to shift. Correspondingly, the man in the family was also expected to be the head of the household and make all major decisions and handling finances and things as such. This was prevalent in a majority of places globally, with some cultural exceptions such as the Touareg tribe of the Sahara desert. Unlike most Western societies, the Touaregs believed the woman was to be the dominant partner in marriages and in the family, controlled the finances and property, and even allowed women to have multiple partners as well (Patel). Of course, this was unheard of in the West, where female sexuality was seen as taboo at the time and was viewed as a threat to the patriarchal system that was traditionally adorned. Comparatively, the perception of female intelligence prior to the 20th century has been undermined, as women’s

"Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time". There are traditional gender roles in almost all the cultures in the world and have existed throughout history. The traditional gender roles might influence us positively and negatively as we live and have grown within our society.

Our world is always changing. Each generation’s experience in life is different from the last. A grandmother’s life was different from her daughters, and even more so than her granddaughters. This is not a disadvantageous aspect of time, without change, we cannot progress as a society, and without progression we become dissolved into oblivion. That being said, this means society can never stop changing. Looking back at the past, especially in more recent years, society has made vast progressions towards gender equality; we can see this progression, for people rely less on gender roles, women are given more opportunities in the workplace, and each age group is clearly more progressive than the last.

Have you ever heard the expression “act like a lady” or “real men don’t cry” and why do you suppose that is? The answer to the question is gender roles; society has created an ideal set of rules and behaviors that both men and women need to follow. These roles have been passed down from generation to generation to the point where both men and women are finally questioning why they have to live by a certain standard. No one knows for certain how gender roles came about or when they were created. These roles have been oppressing and crippling men and women because most of them have been told to act a certain way their whole life; gender roles are another form of judgment and need to stop. Men and women today have been blending and blurring the lines of gender roles which is an important breakthrough in order to move forward as a society.

Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, "All men are created equal." While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards

“We have begun to raise our daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons like our daughters.” This quote was said by the wonderful Gloria Steinem who was a lecturer, political activist, writer, and feminist organizer. For a long time men and women were put into gender roles even as young children; little girls would wear pink while the little boys would wear blue. Recently some of this has changed. Most women and many men are trying to change the stereotypes we put on our genders. Men are wearing makeup, women are cutting their hair short, and everyone are wearing rompers; however many people do not want this change, and most of those people are men. Men do not want a change to happen because that would mean they would have to share power with over twice as many people. With women not doing their “duty” men would have to learn to cook and clean as well as work a job; which is what many, if not all, women do today. The main reason that women are more likely to try to stretch or break gender roles than men is because society tells us we are better off to be manly. All in all, the world is changing and I believe it is for the best and should be accepted and appreciated.

We all know the classic fairy tale of a beautiful princess locked up far and high away in a tower guarded by a dragon waiting for her prince charming to save her. It’s a timeless tell of a knight in shining armor saving his princess, but why did the princess need saving from the tower. Couldn’t she have been contempt in the tower? Why did a Prince charming have to save her, when Princess Charisma was just as brave enough as her brother? Moral of the story why did the princess have a prince rescue her. Women can do the same as a man can. Traditional gender roles in relationships have been around for years and years. They have been an outline for most heterosexual relationships. The man brings home the bacon and the woman cooks it. That’s

The contemporary American society is fast paced and changing every second. Advancements in technology are growing day by day, and the exposure of groundbreaking medical discoveries are causing an uprising in the age-old battle of the sexes. Parents are now capable of choosing the sex of their child, and studies show that having a girl is more favorable. The stray away from traditional gender codes, which are socially constructed roles, behaviors, and attributes given to either gender, have caused a change in thinking amongst parents. These codes place females as being more vulnerable, emotional, and generally performing domestic work, while males are identified with dominance and authority along with being a provider. While there are advantages and disadvantages to both genders, modern society proves that the benefits of being a female outweigh those of a male. Women today are thriving in the educational system, the work force, and biologically by having desirable characteristics that are giving them the edge up above men. They are breaking the gender codes and proving themselves in society as to why being a female is the key to success.

It was not until I entered high school when I started to understand what being a younger sister means. Growing up, I felt that it was my job to tell my parents the mischief that my brothers were getting into. Most of the time, my brothers would threaten me not to tell on them and it would lead to conflict which seemed to last for years. While our one year overlap in highschool, my brother Tom and I found this unique relationship that we possessed through trust and actions. During the first few weeks of my highschool career, Tom made it apparent that because he is the older brother, he will have my back through my freshman year. This made my role as a “little sister” clear, but with this role, do traditional gender roles appear without meaning to? Through experience and facts, being a little sister means that you take care of your brothers and your brothers look out for you.