Gender Roles
Adam J. Zucconi
Professor Francois
English 101 2:15pm
15 February 2013
Gender dictates everything. From what sport one will play, what kind of clothes someone will wear, to whether or not someone has an abortion. It dictates every aspect of one’s existence. It prevents people from reaching their full potential, and stifles their individuality. Many challenges remain in the quest for gender equality. Some obstacles in the way of this quest may never be overcome. The ideal should never be surrendered. Gender-roles are playing a negative role in society.
Countries such as India perform atrocious human abortions based solely on gender. There, due to the advent and use of ultrasound machines to determine the sex of unborn babies, late-term abortions of healthy female fetuses are being carried out with alarming regularity, despite government regulations to curb the practice. These abortions occur in order to guarantee that a male is brought into the family, in order to avoid the dowry system, and to ensure that there will be more career opportunities for the offspring. In his essay, “Abortions in India” (281), Salman Rushdie opines, “Fundamentally, it’s the result of modern technology being placed at the service of medieval social attitudes.” Here, he is suggesting that although the technology of today has a neutral purpose, the society of India has not progressed to a point where they are socially and diplomatically responsible enough to use it. These abortions are archaic, brutal, and incredibly sexist in nature, and they destroy any progress made towards gender-equality. Gender roles place a choke hold on one’s individuality. When children do not adhere to typically accepted gender-norms, it can be the cause of much strife in their lives. During an interview for Teen Vogue, Dan Savage, author of the sex and relationship advice column "Savage Love," states, “A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It 's often the
Professor Francois
English 101 2:15pm
15 February 2013
Gender dictates everything. From what sport one will play, what kind of clothes someone will wear, to whether or not someone has an abortion. It dictates every aspect of one’s existence. It prevents people from reaching their full potential, and stifles their individuality. Many challenges remain in the quest for gender equality. Some obstacles in the way of this quest may never be overcome. The ideal should never be surrendered. Gender-roles are playing a negative role in society.
Countries such as India perform atrocious human abortions based solely on gender. There, due to the advent and use of ultrasound machines to determine the sex of unborn babies, late-term abortions of healthy female fetuses are being carried out with alarming regularity, despite government regulations to curb the practice. These abortions occur in order to guarantee that a male is brought into the family, in order to avoid the dowry system, and to ensure that there will be more career opportunities for the offspring. In his essay, “Abortions in India” (281), Salman Rushdie opines, “Fundamentally, it’s the result of modern technology being placed at the service of medieval social attitudes.” Here, he is suggesting that although the technology of today has a neutral purpose, the society of India has not progressed to a point where they are socially and diplomatically responsible enough to use it. These abortions are archaic, brutal, and incredibly sexist in nature, and they destroy any progress made towards gender-equality. Gender roles place a choke hold on one’s individuality. When children do not adhere to typically accepted gender-norms, it can be the cause of much strife in their lives. During an interview for Teen Vogue, Dan Savage, author of the sex and relationship advice column "Savage Love," states, “A lot of kids are bullied because of their sexual identity or expression. It 's often the
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