Gender Roles Gender roles are affected by the typical roles society expects both men and women to fit into because they determine how we should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Whereas I believe that men and women should be who they want to be. Society has many expectations on men; men are supposed to be brave and stronger than woman. An article on The Social Roles of Men and Women states “It is not enough for a man to be male; he also has to appear masculine. ” People believe that men should be bold, strong, and powerful but that’s not always the case.
Men should act the way they want! Just because society or their parents expect them to be masculine doesn’t mean they have to. Another example from The Social Roles of Men and Women adds “Traditionally, fathers teach boys how to fix and build things. ” I’m sure everyone expects men to teach their sons how to fix or build things. Some fathers don’t even follow this concept with their sons. Sometimes when these kids grow up and don’t know how to build or fix things there are looked at differently as if they are worthless.
Moreover from a different article Gender and Society says “Men have always been afraid that women could get along without them. ” This quote is basically stating that men think that women can live without them, when in reality they can. Men are afraid of this because they believe that women should stay home, keep the house clean and have dinner waiting for them once they come back from work. Men shouldn’t be afraid that women can be independent; I think it’s great that women can be independent and not rely on anyone but themselves. Society also has many expectations on women too; women are usually looked at as being nicer than men.
The article The Social Roles of Men and Women says “A woman, in addition to being female, must also be feminine. ” Society believes that all women should be beautiful, smart, and lovely. I believe that all women are beautiful the way they are; they don’t have to try their best to look their best because having a beautiful heart is what really matters. Everyone in this world is smart in their own way so people in society need to stop judging because both men and women are smart. Another example from The Social Roles of Men and Women claims that “that women are naturally passive. I strongly disagree with this statement because women are definitely not lifeless and inactive. We women are very active and independent now a days. We support and raise our children without men. The last example is one that Thandie Newton mentioned “[We assume] that the self is an actual living thing, but it’s not. It’s a projection which our clever brains create in order to cheat ourselves from the reality of death. ” Newton shows us how she believes that society does have an effect on gender roles because she says our”self” is something created by our brains and ultimately society.
Although men and women have different expectations in society, they both are affected by typical roles society expects them to live by. For example in the article Gender and Society it states “costume, a mask, a straitjacket in which men and women dance their unequal dance. ” I think this quote is telling us that gender is not real because it’s saying gender is a “costume”. Also when the quote says “dance their unequal dance” it means that no matter if you’re a man or woman, they both are unequal.
The last example from Gender and Society tells us “For instance, men and women who feel that they do not fit the masculine and feminine stereotypes, or who resent them as too restrictive, may also develop ambiguous feelings about their biological sex. ” I believe that people shouldn’t care about what society expects from them. Just because men are supposed to be masculine and women are supposed to be feminine doesn’t mean you don’t fit in. You should not be confused about your sex because all that matters in the end is that you’re happy for the real person you are not the fake person you’re trying to be to fit in.
To conclude gender roles are affected by the typical roles society expects us to fit into because they determine the context of society. Society has many expectations on men and women. Men are looked at as being strong, powerful, and bold; whereas women are looked at as being clean, smart and lovely. Although men and women have different expectations in society we should not care about what society thinks and care about what we think. Men and women should be able to be who they want to be! Not someone they don’t want to be. MLA “Gender and Society: A Matter of Nature or Nurture? Gender and Society: A Matter of Nature or Nurture? N. p. , n. d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www. trinity. edu/mkearl/gender. html>. “The Social Roles of Men and Women. ” The Social Roles of Men and Women. N. p. , n. d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www2. hu-berlin. de/sexology/ATLAS_EN/html/the_social_roles_of_men_and_wo. html>. “Thandie Newton: Embracing Otherness, Embracing Myself. ” TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N. p. , n. d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www. ted. com/talks/thandie_newton_embracing_otherness_embracing_myself. html>.