Some Stereotypical Jobs for Woman

A woman’s only job is to stay at home, take care of her family, and pleasure her man. What is a man’s job? “Men, they do everything,” quoted a fellow male classmate, “Men get the real money.” But it is the twenty-first century! Women are no longer expected to stay at home; they have taken roles as teachers, doctors, C.E.O.s, part of the military, and the list goes on. As for men, it is now acceptable for them to stay at home, take care of their families or even become nannies and nurses. Will Meek, creator of website “Psychology of Men”, defined gender role as a set of attitudes, behaviors, and self-presentation methods ascribed to members of a certain biological sex. Gender roles have changed throughout the course of American history; both sexes have come so far from sexist stereotypes that resulted from societal expectations that existed in the past.

Women belong in the kitchen, and men only care about sex. These are examples of stereotypes of men and women that people continue to joke around about. According to the 5th Edition of Child Development by Berk, L., some personality traits regarded as stereotypical for men are active, aggressive, competitive, dominant, superior, self-confident and independent. Women are stereotypically considerate, emotional, gentle, kind, passive, and home-oriented. They also like children and always devote themselves to others. When people first read the list, some are probably thinking, “This is so accurate, what’s wrong with it?” However, these people don’t realize that yes, a man can be dominant and a woman can be passive, but it is also possible for it to be the other way around. A man can be as home-oriented as any woman, and a woman can be as independent as any man.

Not only do stereotypes...

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...ulture has become more gender-neutral and gender roles have become less of a determining factor in parenting and work. According to Scott William’s article about Stay-at-Home Dads on Family Life, he stated that half a century ago, only a few couples would have considered having the husband stay at home while the wife works, but now many couples actually don’t have a problem with that. These couples look at more important criteria such as income potential and work benefits, career flexibility, and who seems to be the best suited to manage the home and relate best with the children. The male/female stereotypes will continue to be joked around about but that’s not what is important. What is important is that people are aware that gender roles have shifted throughout the progression of American history, have transformed the American family and will continue to do so.