Gender Roles Throughout History

Part one

Gender roles of diverse cultures have differed immensely throughout history. The evolution of gender roles first began in the Paleolithic Age and then began to transform with the transformation of the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age. Women in Mesopotamia, India, Greece, China, and Rome were not treated as equals and viewed as inferior to men. Cultures like Egypt and Persia had similar laws for women and treated them with more respect out of any of the other cultures. The Paleolithic Age was responsible for the introductions of many vital aspects of our world today such as, technology, agriculture, and gender roles. The Paleolithic culture was based on a hunter and gatherer society, which had a great influence on the gender roles of males and females. For the most part, the men were responsible for the hunting, mainly due to their physical build. Genetically speaking, men are normally larger in size, stronger, and more aggressive in comparison to women. Despite the large size and strength differences, both males and females were treated with equality. Women contributed to the Paleolithic society by being responsible for the gathering of edible plants and berries. Although gathering plants and berries is considered to be less dangerous and fairly easy when being compared to hunting, gathering was considered to be one of the most important contributions to Paleolithic society. When men went off to hunt, there was no guarantee that they would always be able to bring back enough meat, if any, to feed the community. The plants and berries gathered by the women were responsible for feeding the community daily, especially when the men were unsuccessful in their hunting trip. Without the roles of both the women and men, the community would not have been able to survive. The Neolithic Age was the transformation and progression from the Paleolithic Age lifestyle. The transition of the different era’s influenced the gender roles of men and