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Gender as a women's role in society
How society has constructed the role of gender in society
Gender as a women's role in society
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Women are generally viewed as housekeepers, caretakers, cooks, cleaners, and managers of family activities, but over the past century women have been increasing their appearance in the work force. Although the world around women has manufactured a mold that society tries to cram them into, they have managed to break free in America and redefine what it means to be a female. Nowadays, careers are very important for women, and in many cases, is overriding starting a family—the norm before the 1960’s. Being a female in society doesn’t mean just being the housekeeper, caretaker, cleaner, etc., anymore, it means taking control of their own future and achieving things in ways men never thought possible.
Not only do women generally make more sacrifices
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This could be to keep their personal lives separate from their occupations, but in most cases it was probably to avoid one from outshining the other’s fame. Just like in a “normal” relationship, if a female chooses to keep her original last name, it is just something to remind her that she is still an independent woman. This exemplifies a marriage based merely upon values than meanings between masculinity and femininity.
Another example comes from the reality TV show, “The Bachelorette,” in which a woman searches to find her true love, and if she does, she proposes to him. In past eras, the man has always been the one to propose. This show goes against that traditional stereotype, and swaps the roles of the male and female. Times are changing, and people need to be willing to accept it.
In the olden days, men were expected to work and women were the housewives, but nowadays, men and women take on both roles. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has concluded that by 2050, women will make up 47 percent of the workforce in the United States. Women may even exceed the number of men in the
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Males and females with families, especially in metropolitan areas need to combine their meanings and in some cases reverse the norm by changing the traditional ideas in marriage and the work force. Because prices and upkeep for almost everything, from the basic necessities to children and housing, are increasing, dual incomes and the help of both individuals are not only necessary, but also vital. It is true masculinity and femininity have different literal definitions, but the meaning of males and females is slowly
Warren Farrell is a well educated man who focuses his attention on gender. In his essay “Men as Success Objects,” he writes about gender roles in male-female relationships. He begins, “for thousands of years, marriages were about economic security and survival” (Farrell 185). The key word in that statement is were. This implies the fact that marriage has changed in the last century. He relates the fact that post 1950s, marriage was more about what the male and female were getting out of the relationship rather than just the security of being married. Divorce rates grew and added to the tension of which gender held the supremacy and which role the individuals were supposed to accept. “Inequality in the workplace” covered up all of the conflicts involved with the “inequality in the homeplace”(Farrell). Farrell brings to attention all ...
Traditional gender roles in the United States and other societies have always been dictated as where the man goes and works for a salary as women stay at home to take of house related work. However, many changes in the traditional family has made gender roles go through significant changes. Many women have gone through college and have obtained college education degrees, which has allowed women to advance their careers. The break down of rigid gender roles and the increase in participation of women in the workplace have granted women more choices in life. The choices many women now have in there career fields has made some controversial views on the intelligence of women achieving the status of their male counterparts The first view obtained in the workplace is the ability to make a even paying field for both men and women. Many constituents have pledge to achieve equality for women through laws forbidding the use of any sexist policies that may constitute discrimination against sex. The second is weather working women have been allowed to working women have the same opportunities rewarded to them as men do. Many political action committees have help perpetuate feminist movements which intended to build equal opportunity workplaces for both men and women however, many questionable issues still arise at weather working conditions have become better for women.
The role of women in society has always been an issue throughout the ages and throughout Western Europe, and more or less all over the world. Before the age of the Enlightenment, or the Dark Ages, women were always seen as secondary to men in all aspects. Most reasons were religious while others were just the way life was then. By the late 18th century, at the time of the French Revolution and the continuance of the Enlightenment era, the role of women in society began changing drastically as the lights of the world were now open with this brand new enlightened era. Women began holding jobs, yet still did not receive the same privileges as men. By the time the Industrial Revolution came along in the 19th century many more jobs were opened to a woman in the work force. Reforms began in all areas throughout the 19thand early 20th centuries as women were gaining more and more rights and acceptance into everyday life. By the time the 20th century rolled around and throughout, no longer was it thought that women belonged in the home (although few still feel that way), yet many women began serving professional jobs as doctors, lawyers, and politicians. Now today some of the most successful people in the business world are women, as women have even began there own companies.
In a society where equality is constantly fought over, there are bound to be disputes. Feminism, the movement to create empowerment and equal rights for women, has been criticized by those who argue who, what, and how feminism should be fought with. Many conservative feminists believe that succumbing to men’s pleasure is never the answer, whereas “lipstick” feminists believe that they should be able to use all of their essence in order to establish equality. However, society needs both women and men equally. Feminism shouldn’t focus on how women reach that equality, but rather to reach that point of equality in the first place; with anything they got.
Story’s article, “Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood,” introduces Cynthia Liu, an ambitious student at Yale who plans on going to law school. However, she expects a different future by the time she is thirty. Cynthia states, “My mother always told me you can 't be the best career woman and the best mother at the same time” (Story, 2005, p. A1). This particular situation sets up the rest of the article, focusing on this idea that the nation 's most elite colleges say they 've already decided to set aside their careers to take care of their children instead. The article further supports the situation of working women in the past couple decades, and how this influence has changed over time. “What seems to be changing is that while many women in college two or three decades ago expected to have full time careers, their daughters, while still in college, say they have already decided to suspend or end their careers when they have children” (Story, 2005, p. A1). This is evidence supporting why gender in the workplace has worsened in the past two decades, because women are being stressed to make decisions based on other people 's judgement instead of their own. The article continues to talk about this trend of women 's set career paths to motherhood, but they also address how social change plays into the decision making.
Society in the U.S. has evolved immensely over the past century. With this evolution there has been a redefinition of what gender and gender roles are and this redefinition has influenced a change in the common structure of families and marriages in the U.S.
In American society, the woman has always been viewed in the traditional viewpoint of what role she should play in the home; that she is the homemaker or caretaker. Even when women break from the stereotypical role of "housewife" and join the workforce, they still are not given an equal opportunity at acquiring a job that is seen to be as advancing or of higher recognition, as they would like to have. Men usually already take those positions.
Men have dominated the workforce for most of civilization up until their patriotic duties called away to war. All of a sudden, the women were responsible for providing for their family while the men were away. Women went to work all over America to earn an income to insure their family’s survival. Women took all sorts of jobs including assembly line positions, office jobs, and even playing professional baseball. When the men returned home from war, the women were expected to resume their place as housewives. The women who had gotten a taste of the professional life decided that they wanted to continue working. Thus, the introduction to women in a man’s working environment began. Women were not taken seriously at first, because they were stepping into a “man’s world”.
Since the beginning of time, women had only one true purpose in this world and that was to reproduce. Since then, times have clearly changed, but still, women don’t have labor intensive jobs which are typically left for the men. Women are typically, teachers, caretakers, nurses, babysitters and cooks, they took jobs that were less labor intensive, more nurturing, but some positions left us subservient to men. Over time, the stereotypes and perceptions of women have changed, and now we can be anything we set our mind to. Although still in this 21st Century, we face discrimination, hardship, and over generalized stereotypes that had been set by men. Women still have a hard time being the woman they want to be, with all these do’s and don’t’s
It is, therefore, natural for most companies to think that women cannot be as capable as men in terms of assuming strenuous or challenging positions because women, by default, become less participatory and more vulnerable when they start to have family and children. Apparently, this situation has led to various gender discriminations in the labor market. In conclusion, although the roles of men and women have radically changed over the turn of the century, it is still inevitable to have various gender-related occupational differences because the social and biological roles of women and men do not really change. Society still perceives women as the home makers and men as the earners, and this perception alone defines the differing roles of men and women in the labor market.
The fight for women 's equality is one that can be found throughout history and is still someone many are fighting for today. It is something that women and even men will continue to fight for until it is no longer a question of whether or not men and women are being treated equally, in any circumstance. Even though the rights of women have come a long way over the past few decades, the ethical and moral battle is not over. By applying different ethical theories and perspectives to various issues of women 's equality, it is easier to see where women 's rights currently stand and how to continue to find the right moral decisions for equality of both genders.
However, women have made optimistical progress towards equality and their role in the society has been changed dramatically since the last century. Many women stepped out of their home and start to work at factories and offices. The number of working women with children has more than doubled in the past 50 years. While working conditions for women may have improved, there is a lack of appreciation for the notion that work for most women doesn't end at the door of a factory or office. Despite an increase of women's participation in the labour force, women's share of housework has hardly changed in 50 years.
In the past, many people believed that women’s exclusive responsibilities were to serve their husband, to be great mothers and to be the perfect wives. Those people considered women to be more appropriate for homemaking rather than to be involved in business or politics. This meant that women were not allowed to have a job, to own property or to enjoy the same major rights as men. The world is changing and so is the role of women in society. In today’s society, women have rights that they never had before and higher opportunities to succeed.
Gender inequality all began because of the patriarchal society back in past centuries. Some people, mostly males, are still having issues and concerns that our society is not so much male dominated anymore. Today females have a lot more freedom and opportunities in the employment fields especially in occupations that people have always stereotyped men to have. Altman and Pannell (2012) state that, “Domestic work, weather paid or unpaid, has long been socially defined as women’s work.” (p. 293). Ever since the 19th and 20th century, women have been stereotyped as household employers and men have always been the financial providers in society. Men used to be viewed as physically and mentally stronger than women, and claim that th...
Women constitute 48% of India population, so their development is essential for the process of the overall national development since women and development is one of the important principles of community development. The concept of women empowerment was introduced at the International Women’s Conference at Nairobi in 1985. The term empowerment was defined as ‘a distribution of social power and control of resources in favor of women’. Women empowerment is an important aspect in the process of development of a community. Women self-help groups play a vital role in women empowerment because it makes the women socially recognized, economically independent, psychologically developed and politically knowledgeable. Self-help groups provide enough