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Women's Role in American Society
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The Role of Women in American Society Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need to do severe critical thinking about this delusion of gender, how has limited us in the home, media, and education, how it currently limits us, and what the results of the current and future changes in gender roles will be. Throughout history, the roles of men and women in the home suggested that the husband would provide for his family, usually in a professional field, and be the head of his household, while the submissive wife remained at home. This wife’s only jobs included childcare, housekeeping, and placing dinner on the table in front of her family. The roles women and men played in earlier generations exemplify the way society limited men and women by placing them into gender specific molds; biology has never claimed that men were the sole survivors of American families, and that women were the only ones capable of making a pot roast. This depiction of the typical family has evolved. For example, in her observation of American families, author Judy Root Aulette noted that more families practice Egalitarian ideologies and are in favor of gender equality. “Women are more likely to participate in the workforce, while men are more likely to share in housework and childcare (apa…).” Today’s American families have broken the Ward and June Cleaver mold, and continue to become stronger and more sufficient. Single parent families currently become increasingly popular in America, with single men and women taking on the roles of both mother and father. This bend in the gender rules would have, previously, been unheard of, but in the evolution of gender in the family, it’s now socially acceptable, and very common. What i... ... middle of paper ... ...s. A woman in the office no longer takes messages, makes coffee, and runs off copies for her male boss; she represents top clients, holds important business meetings, and flies across the country for professional conferences. A man no longer spends 85% of his time working to support a housewife and kids; he can stay at home, and run errands and raise children and not risk being put to social shame. Couples on TV sleep in the same bed rather than separate twin beds, with or without wedding bands, and not necessarily man and woman. American society needs to break from the mold of the myth of gender, which suggests that society and culture dictate our roles as men and women, as can only restrict us into unnecessary conformity. The opinion of society should no longer decide who we are, what we do, and what we’re capable of doing. We, as Americans, need to deeply analyze and question this fallacy of gender and the way it restricts us at home, in the media, and in the classroom. If we continue to follow the invisible guidelines of in invisible rulebook, we’re destined to hurt ourselves and our future generations by remaining nestled into our cultural cocoons and never shedding them.
In today’s contemporary American culture, gender roles are despised by the younger generation because of the distinctions placed on them. This is the era of open-mindedness and self-expression and because of this individuals feel they should not be told what they can and cannot do based on their sex. There are now material things such as, clothes, shoes and perfumes that are considered unisex, males and females can now fight in wars and men are no longer fully needed to be the providers of their families. Though the American culture has attempted to make a leap forward when it comes to breaking down the barriers of gender roles, it is still being held back. Being a culture that was first influenced by the Christian religion, there are still traces of these gender roles present. From areas of
No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality (Eitzen, Zinn, and Smith 2012). Every society treats women and men differently. Research shows that sex and gender are entirely separate concepts, yet, society lumps them together and the terms oftentimes are used interchangeably. We can distinguish that sex indicates biological differences between males and females, and gender assigns cultural and social behavior based on sex. However, everything in society is needlessly gendered; advertising, occupations, institutions. Society makes gender a huge factor that determines what roles children and adults alike fulfill. This fosters a culture where roles are pre-fabricated for us, somewhat eliminating free choice, and limiting
The film and literature presented in this unit was an eye opener to the modern western views regarding race and gender. In this western society we view a male as being strong, powerful, a provider for his family, the head of the household and many other characteristics that relates to what a man should be. When growing up as a child into adulthood we’re stimulated by the many books and movies of a woman being second to a man, a stay at home mom while the man is at home making ends meet just trying to provide for his family and we accept that role because in this western society that’s the ideal role as a woman where we look up to the man as a safety blanket and that’s all we’re brainwashed to know. We were never told about how powerful
Modernism is the term of deviating from the norm. In the early 1900s, modernism influenced women’s role in society by providing more opportunities, jobs, and role models for girls today, in society.
Let’s travel back in time to about the 1700s and the 1800s, back when women had absolutely no rights as an individual and men were considered superior to women. A time where women couldn’t be anything but a housewife and do anything beside house chores, reproduce, and take care of the kids. Meanwhile, men would go out to the world and work. However, throughout the centuries, women fought for their equal rights until they finally succeeded. Back to the present day, women today outnumber men in graduating college, and in professional programs. Gender roles today took a complete twist compared to how it was back then.
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
In her essay, “Housewives and Homework: The Lacemakers of Narsapur,” Chandra Talpade Mohanty focused on how men sold products that women produced and profited from women’s work. The essay basically pointed out how work can be defined according to sexual identity. It made me wonder if American women are still perceived by men in society as being housewives even though some of us are doctors, lawyers, teachers etc. Is the work that women do seen as what Mohanty pointed out in her essay as “leisure time activities”? I think that to some extent men believe that women’s sole purpose on Earth is to be their wives/partners and to be good mothers to their children. Even though we “leisurely,” as Mohanty so plainly categorized our work according to men in India, go out to our different careers or occupations everyday, we are not truly seen as providers or given credit for being part providers for the family. Some men may feel that we put forth more of an effort in being a woman who cleans the house, cooks, and takes care of the children. Maybe our “le...
In American culture many people expect those within our society to strictly follow gender roles that have been set in place and anyone who does not follow these roles are often judged harshly. Recently, a friend of mine had a son; her and her husband decided that he would take on the responsibility of being a stay at home father. When I first heard about this I was perplexed by the situation because fathers are “bread winners” for their family, not nurturers. The idea that men cannot be nurturing and mothers cannot be the sole financial support system of the family is deeply ingrained in our culture. Due to society’s idea of masculine and feminine roles, many people struggle with the idea of men and women behaving in ways that do not fit our
For the past century, the United States of America has made countless advancements in technology, medicine, and many other fronts. As a society, it has advanced at an incredible rate, becoming a major world power in an incredibly short period of time. The biggest barriers that America is working on are currently taking place within its own borders; civil rights and the battle for equality have men and women of every race up and arms. Specifically, the fight against sexism is the most modern struggle in America. Discrimination against women is harmful to both men and women; it holds women back into a useless position and forces men to take the brunt of the work. Men are expected to work, but women are almost expected not to, and instead "be nothing more than dangling, decorative ornaments--non-thinking and virtually non-functional” (Chisholm 4). There is progress to be made in the American society in its attitude and treatment of women. Gender inequality continues to be a social problem in the business, family, and personal lives of women.
Women and men both play crucial roles in our society. Through the years, we like to presume that gender roles aren’t perceived as they once were. Is that the case? Looking through pieces of literature such as “I want a wife” (1971) by Judy Brandy, “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy (1973), and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1899) and comparing them to modern day depicts how much gender roles changed. Gender roles have not changed a whole lot; they did change, but defiantly not as much as we like to believe. Women have more freedom and independence now than ever before, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are still controlled and objectified.
Americans are multicultural, descended from multiple geographic, ethnic and racial backgrounds. The original American colonies were formed during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with uneven gender ratios. Equality of the sexes did not exist until education became a major impact because the people needed an educated citizenry capable of self-government. The earliest British colonists migrated to the New World to flee religious prosecution and because of the economic opportunity. It was a chance for them to live the way they wanted without anyone interfering, a chance of a better life. Basically Europeans migrated to America for better opportunities. While some unions were the result of intermarriage or consensual relationships. There was also widespread sexual exploitation of black women by white slave-owners. Ancestry influences identities, but its impact is facilitated by the number of factors including ethnic amalgamation, the consciousness and conservation of knowledge about ancestral roots, fundamental beliefs about race and racial divisions and the number of generations uninvolved from the arrival of immigrant ancestors. The definition of being an “American” broadened and became more inclusive over the past two centuries in that women are a distinctively classified identity that have evolved throughout historical patterns. Women became inclusive when the constitution was ratified. Amendment 15th gave all men the right to vote but not women until the 19th Amendment in 1920. Free women were citizens, but their rights in property-owning, voting and other matters were limited.
The role of women in society has been promoted as subservient and inferior to men. This concept is still upheld as a standard. Women are less likely, “consulted as ‘experts’” (Lee and Shaw 67) on a topic than male counterparts. Women not being regarded as “experts” (Lee and Shaw 67) reinforces women as inferior to men. In the media men are regarded as “spokesperson” (Lee and Shaw 67); this idea are competent and trustworthy to represent a product. Society labels women as incompetent and does not accept women having authority. The lack of women holding authoritative positions reveals the discomfort American society feels with women and power. This concept has persisted throughout time; women are seen as inadequate to males. In the media news women are substantially “underrepresented” (Lee and Shaw 67). The trend presents women as undesired and disassociated from society. The disassociation implies to women they are not valued. The under representation of women in the media enforces a patriarchal society. The society is represented by men. Stories in the media associate women with “family, looks, or romance” (Lee and Shaw 67). Those stories enforce the view of women being care givers and only valued for physical...
A great place to begin is by investigating when and where or even how did our society, the United States, become socialized to the point where roles and expectations are defined by gender. How have theorists or researchers expla...
The traditional gender roles have been slowly blurred over time. Traditional mid-20th-century American gender roles separate the roles of men and women within a household. Men were the head of household and then the women obeyed their husband. Within the last thirty years, the distinction between the two genders has slowly become equal in the workplace and in daily life.
The role women play in today’s society is a drastic change from the previous role. Women used to be confined to the superiority of the man. Physically, mentally, and emotionally abused, belittled, embarrassed, and silenced. These are just a few examples of the emotion from the isolated treatment of the past. A woman’s role in today’s society is more valued than ever before.