Gender Roles Sociology

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The subject of gender and gender roles didn’t become a widely discussed issue until the 1970s with the undertaking of the feminist movement. Gender is most commonly used inreference to specific behavioural characteristics that differentiate between masculinity and femininity. These behaviours that we use to categorize what is masculine and what is feminine are often referred to as gender roles. Gender roles most often define what a particular society or culture agrees is normal or acceptable behaviour for men and women. Gender roles refer to anything from emotional, physical or psychological expectations. Traditional gender roles expect that women are more emotional, physically weaker and less intelligent whereas traditional male gender roles believe that men are more stoic, physically strong and intelligent. The feminist movement largely saw gender roles as an oppression of their rights and freedoms, gender roles used primarily painting them into a corner, or the kitchen. Much of the feminist movement has been an attempt to break down gender roles for women, not allowing society to depict for them which jobs, activities and clothing areacceptable for them. The term …show more content…

Domestic abuse and other aspects of criminology have begun to take on a gender specific language. Criminologists use terms like woman abuse and femicide, terminologies like this have put an easy label on our focus of women as victims but have also consequently caused a neglect of the awareness of men as victims of certain crimes. a gender specific look at victimology is important when researching how to help victims cope and how to help protect potential victims but to study males and females as exclusive populations, as if they have no commonalities is comparable to doing the same to victims and offenders and can only be done in blatant ignorance of the available empirical

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