Sociology Gender Roles

Gender roles can be described as expectations of how a person should dress, act, and talk based on our sex. It determines how masculine or feminine a person should be. Gender roles greatly affect people and their view for life. Even though women now have more power in the work place, and more men can be seen being responsible for their homes, there are still social expectations that influence the perception of what it means to be female or male. Various stereotypes of actions and demeanors which are socially acceptable for men and women still exist today. Just by being at work, viewing different types of media, or simply watching how your household runs, you would see how lots of gender roles affect you personally.
Gender differences play a
big role in the workplace. First of all, we all understand that men have been in the workforce longer than women but that does not mean that they should have any type of extra privileges. Men in the work place are as described as straightforward, confident, aggressive, and like a challenge. Women can be described as team players, persuasive, honest, hard workers, and flexible. Those are the good ones; usually women are described as too emotional and told that “emotions get in the way of making big decisions.” I have seen a person break work into three groups, “men, women with kids, and women without kids”. It sounds horrible but there is no denying it is true. For years, women have been fighting for equality when they should be fighting for fairness. Take the movie I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011) for example. It was said in the movie, “If a woman takes time off for her child it is frowned upon while if a man takes the same time off for his child he is praised for it.” This is completely accurate, but why can’t both of them be praised or both be frowned upon? That is just the tip of the iceberg for gender discrimination.
Without even realizing it we view lots of media throughout our day, whether you’re listening to the radio, at work, watching television, checking social media, browsing the internet or driving by a billboard on the way to work. We are on the receiving end of millions of stories, truths, lies, and messages. The media is very powerful, primarily its influence on how women and men are viewed. Women feel compelled to have the ‘perfect female body’ which makes it more common than ever that women are covering up natural nails with acrylic nails, replacing natural eyes with contacts, enlarging breasts with silicone, or making short hair longer with hair extensions. We cannot even look at a magazine cover without seeing airbrushing to make skin appear clear or Photoshop to make a small waist. Therefore the female body becomes a clone of a Barbie, and the element of natural beauty is replaced by an illusion. Men are commonly characterized as dominant and strong. From Rambo to GI Joe, there is really no other view besides masculinity. The media puts down men that care or are against violence. What is this showing the children? I think the more television children watch the more likely they are to hold sexist views. They are seeing that girls are always interested in their appearance and fascinated by mostly dolls and jewelry while boys are encouraged to play sports and be captivated by war play, and technology. This is showing them messages about gender that should only be seen by adults’ eyes. These portrayals can influence impressions of what is expected from men and women but also what is expected from themselves. They promote an unequal vision of the roles women and men have in society.
Whether you have your own household or are still living with your parents, think about how your household runs.
Think of your marriage, if you’re not married think of your parents, how do gender roles play a part in the marriage? At times my parents’ marriage is very traditional, due to the fact that my mother did not start to work until all of her children started school, during that time my father was the primary breadwinner. On the other hand, growing up wasn’t your typical Mexican marriage since my mother became the primary breadwinner while my father was the one that would cook for us. This is very unlikely; I suppose this is because even though my father was born and raised in Mexico my mother was not, she was born and raised in the United States. The culture in Mexico is that a male always has to support the woman and the children while the female needs to cook, clean, have children, take care of the children and even be completely dependent on the male. They believe it is unattainable for a woman to support herself and be educated. Mexican females are raised that one day they will marry a man and he will be in charge of the family, and the family must obey him. Of course I disagree, in the U.S. you don’t need to obey a man, you can be just as successful as a man if not more, not in Mexico, a woman is unable to make as much as the man, so the man is needed. I do agree that the man should support the family at all times, although they can also help around the house. Comparing to the past we have come a long way therefore, men can do what women do, and women can also do what men
do.
Whoever said men and women are equal must be unaware of the world around them. Women have always taken a back seat to men. There has always seemed to be one set of standards that apply to men and another set of standards that apply to women. This is evident in the workplace, the home, and all throughout the media. Despite impressive developments in the United States during recent decades, society continues to stereotype men and women on how they should be and act.