Victorian Era Gender Roles
GENDER ROLES AND POWER RELATIONS
Over the years there has been a transformation of sorts. Societies steeped in patriarchy have slowly but surely paved the way for a change. Today, the erstwhile equation of a meek, quiet, obedient, accommodating woman being akin to a ‘powerless’ woman stands changed. The conventional ‘real’ man is not necessarily the outspoken, commanding, ‘powerful’ man that he has always been associated with. Gender stereotypes stand challenged!!!
History is replete with examples all over the world where traditional mindsets existed for different gender. The Victorian Era glorifies the chivalry and valour of the gentlemen, while laying emphasis on the ‘lady-like’ and elegant demeanour of the women. In India, the palaces of erstwhile Kings clearly demarcated the living area of the Kings and Queens. Ambition, fearlessness and courage were …show more content…
qualities associated with the men while the women were meant to be content with home and hearth, child bearing and rearing.
Since times immemorial, man has been associated with being a symbol of physical strength and power.
Being the bread-winner of the family, he has been the one who has shouldered all major responsibilities and been the provider and protector alike. The woman’s role in such a scenario has been of one in the background, of looking after the family-the husband and children. What may have begun as playing a complementary role to that of the man may have slowly turned into being one of the subjugated as she continued to put herself onto the back-burner.
A need to voice their feelings, I feel, would have been the first step to ‘being heard’. Virginia Woolf’s ‘A room of one’s own’ was symbolic of a sense of freedom and expression. Feminist waves followed and the women of the 20th century were ready to break through the stereotype and make place for themselves in what was essentially a man’s world. The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher; the first woman Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike were just a few of the women who gave the term ‘power’ a new
meaning.
‘Nothing changes the gender equation more significantly than woman’s economic freedom’, said Gloria Steinsem, a famous American feminist and journalist. The roles of women began to evolve in the 1960’s and 1970’s, women were no longer expected to stay at home or be limited to stereotyped employment. Women stood up and led marches for gender equality, not just within the work place or educational fields, but in the upbringing of our daughters paving the way to a world of possibilities.
There has been a paradigm shift in the stereotype of a typical man in today’s world. Sensitivity is one of the most desired qualities required in a man and plain machismo has taken a back seat.
However, though we may not grapple with gender discrimination at every level, it has unfortunately not entirely disappeared. Perverted men still continue to threaten the honour of women by using brutal force to rape them and show their superiority. Wife beating, sexual abuse still do exist. Nevertheless the times are changing. Today, for the darkness of illiteracy, there is a beacon of hope in Malala. Several male bastions have been shattered and services such as the Defence are no longer just the prerogative of the men. With women having joined the Indian Air force as Fighter Pilots, the last male bastion has fallen.
In the words of Kofi Annan, former Secretary General, United Nations, ‘Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.’
Gender no longer defines power. Martin Luther King’s famous speech, ‘I have a dream’ had simply stated that ‘All people are created equal.’ And it is in this equal world, that power should reside with the best, irrespective of gender. May the best man or woman win!!!
Over the years there has been a transformation of sorts. Societies steeped in patriarchy have slowly but surely paved the way for a change. Today, the erstwhile equation of a meek, quiet, obedient, accommodating woman being akin to a ‘powerless’ woman stands changed. The conventional ‘real’ man is not necessarily the outspoken, commanding, ‘powerful’ man that he has always been associated with. Gender stereotypes stand challenged!!!
History is replete with examples all over the world where traditional mindsets existed for different gender. The Victorian Era glorifies the chivalry and valour of the gentlemen, while laying emphasis on the ‘lady-like’ and elegant demeanour of the women. In India, the palaces of erstwhile Kings clearly demarcated the living area of the Kings and Queens. Ambition, fearlessness and courage were …show more content…
qualities associated with the men while the women were meant to be content with home and hearth, child bearing and rearing.
Since times immemorial, man has been associated with being a symbol of physical strength and power.
Being the bread-winner of the family, he has been the one who has shouldered all major responsibilities and been the provider and protector alike. The woman’s role in such a scenario has been of one in the background, of looking after the family-the husband and children. What may have begun as playing a complementary role to that of the man may have slowly turned into being one of the subjugated as she continued to put herself onto the back-burner.
A need to voice their feelings, I feel, would have been the first step to ‘being heard’. Virginia Woolf’s ‘A room of one’s own’ was symbolic of a sense of freedom and expression. Feminist waves followed and the women of the 20th century were ready to break through the stereotype and make place for themselves in what was essentially a man’s world. The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher; the first woman Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike were just a few of the women who gave the term ‘power’ a new
meaning.
‘Nothing changes the gender equation more significantly than woman’s economic freedom’, said Gloria Steinsem, a famous American feminist and journalist. The roles of women began to evolve in the 1960’s and 1970’s, women were no longer expected to stay at home or be limited to stereotyped employment. Women stood up and led marches for gender equality, not just within the work place or educational fields, but in the upbringing of our daughters paving the way to a world of possibilities.
There has been a paradigm shift in the stereotype of a typical man in today’s world. Sensitivity is one of the most desired qualities required in a man and plain machismo has taken a back seat.
However, though we may not grapple with gender discrimination at every level, it has unfortunately not entirely disappeared. Perverted men still continue to threaten the honour of women by using brutal force to rape them and show their superiority. Wife beating, sexual abuse still do exist. Nevertheless the times are changing. Today, for the darkness of illiteracy, there is a beacon of hope in Malala. Several male bastions have been shattered and services such as the Defence are no longer just the prerogative of the men. With women having joined the Indian Air force as Fighter Pilots, the last male bastion has fallen.
In the words of Kofi Annan, former Secretary General, United Nations, ‘Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.’
Gender no longer defines power. Martin Luther King’s famous speech, ‘I have a dream’ had simply stated that ‘All people are created equal.’ And it is in this equal world, that power should reside with the best, irrespective of gender. May the best man or woman win!!!