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What is the role of women
Roles of women
What is the role of women
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The Christian Teachings on Social Harmony
Social harmony is essential in modern day life. It can be defined as
people living together in harmony, accepting each others beliefs,
culture, appearance and background as well as learning from each other
and exchanging views. However social disharmony also appears in the
world frequently, it is generally created by social unrest and the
need to focus the blame on a group of society that is easily
recognisible and somewhat distant. Conflicting views are also another
reason for social disharmony; racism can also create an atmosphere of
disharmony, believing that a certain group has exclusive rights to a
certain area. A main factor in social disharmony is the obvious fact
that different people feel that they are superior to another group.
This idea is generally formed because the other group carries out
their lives in a different and unique manner.
The four main area topics that appear in the theme of social harmony
are the role of men and women, multi-faith societies, multi-ethnic
societies and war and peace. It is clear that men and women have
different appearances but this does not mean that they are unable to
fulfill exactly the same roles in society. Although they have
different strengths and weaknesses, the Christian view is that they
are equal. "God created men and women in the image of himself, in the
image of God he created them."(Genesis 1:27)However the Catholic
Church believes that women are unable to fulfill the role of deacon,
priest or bishop, due to the fact that part of mass involves
representing Jesus, he was a male and thus it would be unacceptable
for a woman to represent him. "The Lord Jesus chose men… to form the
college of the twelve apostles…"(Catechism of the Catholic Church
1577)
One of the main problems that social harmony faces concerning the role
of men and women is the rigid view that society has adopted. It is the
responsibility of the younger generation to break this false belief
through their actions and achievements.
Aaron Devor’s essay “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender” describes how despite popular belief, gender and sex are not directly related and how social norms affect individual’s choice of gender. Devor‘s main argument is that gender is not determined by genitalia, but instead by the individual's own choices. Michael Kimmel’s essay “Masculinity as Homophobia” claims that gender equality is a positive thing for males and that social norms force men to act a certain way. Kimmel’s main argument is that men are always having to protect their masculinity in order to prevent themselves from appearing weak. Both authors present compelling arguments for both gender equality and for how social norms influence individuals’ gender choice. However, the two authors approach the same topic in different ways. Kimmel takes a more laid-back approach to the topic by using simple words and a conversational tone that relates to the casual gender sociologist. Devor writes a more sophisticated essay using complex terms and a more formal tone that relates to the serious sociologist that research gender studies.
Devor and Nelson both acknowledge that gender roles are determined not by biological makeup but by societal manipulation. Devor conveys how society has developed of system of communicating gender identity that relies more so on the characteristics of a person rather than the anatomy of a person. So when individuals fail to religiously adhere to these gender codes they are at risk of failing to adequately communicate their gender, which can lead to being ostracized in the dating world or by pairs. Nelson highlights how the culture uses television to promotes and enforces gender roles; which assist society in identify what is gender appropriate. Society puts so much emphasis on gender appropriation that people fear the outcome of not fitting into a category of male or female because there is no inbetween. Men are supposed to dominate with aggression while women enable them by remaining vulnerable and submissive. Both authors believe that there are no natural character traits in men and women and that the creation of these differences were culturally created in an effort to keep women oppressed by male
As meaning making creatures, humans attempt to categorize and definitively understand anything they observe. Although this crusade for understanding is not inherently bad, it often produces unintended negative consequences. As humans sort, classify, and define everything, they simultaneously place everything into a box that constricts creativity and fluidity. Concerning gender, these boxes create harmful conceptions of each person on the planet. Although these conceptions of gender are constructed and not “real” by any means, they have real implications in the process of socialization that influence how each person lives his/her life. In the United States, the commonly socialized “boxes” of gender have done a great
Society places ideas concerning proper behaviors regarding gender roles. Over the years, I noticed that society's rules and expectations for men and women are very different. Men have standards and specific career goals that we must live up to according to how others judge.
Throughout history our understanding of the world has been manufactured through the judgment of human beings. The overall change and shift in paradigms can be explained by social construction theory. An article written by Carole S. Vance discusses the topic of social construction theory and illustrates how it impacts gender roles. Social construction can be defined as: a critical subject of reality that analyzes the ideas of a particular group or culture based on society and the aspects of society (education, religion, government etc.) Another article “Feminist Critiques of the Public/Private Dichotomy” written by Carole Pateman explains how men had placed women in a hypothetical bubble that is dominated by men. Men have always been looked
view holds that gender is not biologically based, but rather it is a cultural construct that is
Gender theorists argue that gender is a social construct not a biological or genetic characteristics. There has been no agreed universal way to be a man or a woman. Scientists have argued that our ways of defining gender is shaped by social cues and influences. Gender is a label in society that also decides the behaviors about what it means to be either a male or female, and is often regarded in terms of masculine or feminine, respectively. David Gilmore, the author of “Manhood in the Making” (1991), sees internalized gender ideologies as collective representations that pressure men and women into acting in certain ways. These pressures are always present in society; however, they differ in the amount of intensity there is in the differences
Since the beginning of time, society has implemented or prescribed defined characteristics that a man or woman need to have to meet social and cultural requirements. Through these gender roles our behavior, attitude and feelings are shaped and how our capabilities are limited or coerced. These traits make us either masculine or feminine; stereotypically manhood is affiliated with audacity, chauvinism and stoicism while womanhood is linked to submission, feebleness and sentiment.
The social construction theory claims that gender, along with gender inequalities, are conceived by society and are not innate (Klement lecture notes September 27 2016). Instead of agreeing that gender and its inequalities are biologically determined, this theory explores how society, culture and norms influence our understanding of the variances between masculinity and femininity and govern our practices, customs and rules concerning the way we “perform” our gender.
In emphasizing the gender theory it has evolved into a social phenomenon “gender is what we
Society is based upon a set of rules created for all men and woman. It represents
Religion influences social relationships in more ways then one. Religion for many is a way of life, a lifestyle. You learn values and discipline and its something that is constantly around. Religion can promote helping and thinking (Aronson, E., Wilson, T.D., &Akert, R.M. ,2013).
Society has planted a representation into people’s minds on how each gender is supposed to be constructed. When one thinks of the word gender, the initial responses are male and female but gender may be represented in many additional terms. As defined, “Gender refers to the social expectations that surround these biological categories.” (Steckley, 2017, pg.256) Gender is something that is ascribed,
“Who is a man, and who is a woman? Are we not one?” (Anonymous, N.D.). As juveniles, we do not categorize ourselves as girl or boy. We play with each other as if we are just one, not realizing the fact that we are from two different genders. We forget that society has set out different standards for a male and a female. We are born vacuous, to thoroughly understand the different paths that are chosen for us. As adolescents, we do not discriminate against one another for being a female, we consider ourselves equals. However, as we get older, these beliefs start to fade away as we enter adulthood and begin to process the reality of how different a woman is considered from a man. How weak a woman is portrayed by the society and how she is meant
Society has stamped an image into the minds of people of how the role of each gender should be played out. There are two recognized types of gender, a man and a woman, however there are many types of gender roles a man or a woman may assume or be placed into by society. The ideas of how one should act and behave are often times ascribed by their gender by society, but these ascribed statuses and roles are sometimes un-welcomed, and people will assume who they want to be as individuals by going against the stereotypes set forth by society. This paper will examine these roles in terms of how society sees men and women stereotypically, and how men and women view themselves and each other in terms of stereotypes that are typically ascribed, as well as their own opinions with a survey administered to ten individuals. What I hope to prove is that despite stereotypes playing a predominant role within our society, and thus influencing what people believe about each other in terms of their same and opposite genders, people within our society are able to go against these ascribed stereotypes and be who they want and it be okay. Through use of the survey and my own personal history dealing with gender stereotyping I think I can give a clear idea as to how stereotypes envelope our society, and how people and breaking free from those stereotypes to be more individualistic.