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Gender inequality and sexism
Gender inequality and sexism
Sexism related to gender inequality
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“Men are from Mars, women are from Venus.” It’s the thought that crosses everyone’s mind; are men and women the same? In many ways men and women are different. When people think about men and women they do not think similarities even though there are many reasons why they should. The differences between the two are much larger than the similarities but they are still there. Stereotypes have a lot to do with this because the way the world sees females and males affect how they act. Three of the main differences and similarities are within parenting, physical shape, and emotional state.
Parenting is something that majority of men and women experience. Both men and women have the ability to become parents. When a baby is made it is made between both parents. This is a huge similarity between the two because both man and woman have ownership of an offspring. Even though the baby belongs to both, the responsibly is in many ways more with the mother. A woman has to carry a child and go through childbirth, whereas a man only has to produce the sperm for the making of the child. Since a woman produces breast milk it is more understood that the mother is responsible for feeding the baby. Since
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Because people are so closed minded the similarities are often forgotten but when it really comes down to it they are definitely there. The differences are very important though, because without them there would be only a world of all women or all men. The fact that in many cases the two need each other’s differences in order to feel complete shows how important they are. The similarities are also important. The similarities between the two help to connect them and help people understand why sexism is a real and unfortunate thing. Its important to understand the similarities and difference that way people can see the world in an equal light and state of
Masculinity and femininity are not restricted to two separate and distinct groups. In reality, they are different within themselves, and similar to each other. It is a well-known stereotype that men are tough and strong with no emotions, while women are weak and need to be supported.
If a person was asked what he or she thought males and females are like, what would he or she answer? There was such a survey done, and the list for females was as follows: “compassionate, loves children, dependent, interpersonally sensitive, nurturing,” while the list for males was “leader, aggressive, ambitious, analytical, competitive, dominant, independent, and individualistic” (Fine 3-4). By this standard, all women are interpersonally sensitive, and all men are aggressive. Is this true? In some cases these generalizations may be true, but in many others this is far from the truth, making these lists gender stereotypes. Gender stereotypes can be found in many places including magazines, television shows, real life, and movies. Movies in general are overflowing with an innumerable amount of stereotypes. Just One of the Guys, in particular, is a movie that focuses on gender stereotypes. In the movie, the main character, Terry Griffith, reinforces “all [of] the clichés” surrounding both male and female genders while she is learning to be a boy, changing between the two genders, and demonstrating her actions and interactions as a boy (Denby 543).
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.
Recent studies show that women are seen as the emotional sex across cultures (Crawford and Unger). Darwin says, “[w]oman seems to differ from man in mental disposition, chiefly in her greater tenderness and less selfishness; and this holds good even with savages…” (Darwin 234). This is simply an observation of socially imposed standards which Darwin considers evolutionary traits. Darwin’s assumption on mental dispositions leading to differences in male and female attitudes can be explained by the stereotypes instilled within people. Gender stereotypes begin to form in children by age five and are typically completely ingrained by the end of adolescence (Crawford and Unger). Women are expected to be tender and caring for others, as well as submissive. Although none of this is to say that stereotyping is bad, as it is a normal process, it just explains why this is because of social factors and not biological ones.
Within the modern feminist movement much effort has been made to find the likeness between men and women. Liberal feminism has taken the stand that little or no significant differences separate genders (Maltin 6). The goal of this reasoning in feminism is equal rights the and thus the destination, gender equality. (Maltin 5) Impassioned women have take up resourceful actions to further their cause and secure these rights. However, by concentrating on the similitude women have constrained their own identity. Through recognizing differences between genders women have the opportunity to achieve not only greater equality but also create the environment to embrace their unique and exceptional undertaking with humanity.
As the Classical World began to emerge, the relation between men and women start to change. During the Greek and Roman Empire, men continuing to be powerful in the society, and were the ones who trained for oncoming battles. As well woman rights were emerging slowly during the period. Women started as a possession of the men, and ended with own rights and choices of profession. The civilization of Greece had two main cities, Sparta and Athens. Men and women in Sparta were strong, they started training together, and at the age of twelve were separate. Then boys were sent to the barracks, were the military training continued, and girls keep with their trained to became worthy of a good male. Spartan women were free, they could ran businesses
Gender differences are influences on gender behavior in the way that one must fit through the assumptions and inevitable confusion to distinguish the reality of the assumption. Men and women are obviously different inherently, but not in what they can and cannot do. Men and women are different and have different roles because this is society presented them to the world. Women have the most difficulty getting through these complicated times. There should be equality among all men and women of all races and ethnicity. This is a never-ending issue. We as a society should always know and act on the importance of gender roles, gender equality, and challenges with education in developed and developing countries.
The differences in behavior between men and women are not distinctive or entirely natural; some are imposed by society. From the moment your gender is revealed, society determined how your physical nature, emotions, and your character should take place in the world. I think gender is socially constructed in ways and gender identification comes from the way the general public treats one another. However, I do not accept the notation that if gender roles weren’t identified, men and women would be indistinguishable. Men and women are born with entirely different behavioral predispositions and genetic material. The brains of men differ from the brains of women in several ways. Men have larger brains with more neurons and women have a higher
relationship problems between men and women because of the fundamental psychological differences between them. The author represents men and women from two different planets. Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. This book also states the difference of values of men's and
I do not pretend to be a complete expert in the vast world of men and women. However, as one of these creatures, I decided early on in life to do my best to figure out the relationship between us and our counterparts. This was very interesting to me because, unlike most people, I do not believe that we simply "evolved" to become what we are today. I believe we were created the way we are by a very big God who knew what He was doing, and did it for a purpose. After a mere 18 years of observation, I have concluded that we as humans are trying to look too deeply into the purpose of "man" and "woman." We make the relationship too complicated. We need to stop prying into why men like football and women like quilts, and simply accept that we do. That is the way it is. And as I shall point out, that is the way it is best.
Meanwhile, others believe that child raising should be shared in a way that suits the family. While single parents argue that even without one parent they can give their children the needed love and care. The first point of view about whether parents should assume equal responsibilities when raising a child is that a child should be raised with all the care and love from both parents. Women and men should share their responsibilities because it is important for the children that both parents are involved and are able to collaborate with each other.
Everybody is born and made differently, but one thing is similar, our gender. We are born either male or female, and in society everybody judges us for our gender. This is called gender roles; societies expecting you to act like a male or female (Rathus, 2010). Some people say, “act like a lady,” or “be a man,” these are examples of how gender roles work in our everyday lives. In society when we think stereotypes, what do we think? Many think of jocks, nerds, or popular kids; gender stereotyping is very similar. Gender stereotypes are thoughts of what the gender is supposed to behave like (Rathus, 2010). One example of a gender stereotype for a man would be a worker for the family, and a women stereotype would be a stay at home mom. Though in todays age we don’t see this as much, but it is still around us. In different situations both gender roles and stereotypes are said and done on a daily basis and we can’t avoid them because everyone is different.
Gender roles and identity are constantly shifting throughout different societal generations. Men and woman both have notable similarities and differences in genders and they each contribute to their personalities and actions. In the past men have been viewed as a more dominant sex in society over women, both in careers, home life, and sexually, however, today women have bridged many of the gaps and society is accepting a more equal view of genders. The following examines the similarities and differences between men and woman by looking at biological characteristics, gender roles, and sexual responses.
Mothers are the primary caretakers of the children. The fathers have had minimal care taking responsibilities. Many women, if they had a career before hand, have to give it up to stay at home with the child. Although, many fathers where the wives must work become important in the process of care taking because their role must increase to their children. Studies of human fathers and their infants confirm that many fathers can act sensitively with their infant (according to Parke & Sawin, 1980) and their infants form attachments to both their mothers and fathers at roughly the same age (according to Lamb, 1977).
The differences between women and men are not solely biological. Our society’s culture has established a set of unwritten cultural laws of how each gender should act, or in other words society has ascribed a stereotype. Men’s gender identity has been one of masculinity, and masculinity is defined as referring to a man or things described as manly. What does manly mean though? Is a male manly if he is “Mr. Fix-it”, or the jock, or if he sits on the couch on Sunday watching football? This latter statement is a stereotype of men, that has been around for decades, and is current as well, but starting with the 1960’s a man’s role started to change, despite the stereotype not changing to accommodate it. For the past 40 years one can see how men have taken on roles stereotypically ascribed to women, such roles including being the “stay-at-home mom”, which we can find an excellent example of in the 1980’s film “Mr.