Ronza
Gender roles are the roles and norms that males and females are expected to follow in society. According to Merriam Webster, a role is defined as a socially expected behavior pattern usually determined by an individual’s status in a particular society, however, they define a norm as a pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group. I guess the main difference is that the role depends on the status of authority of the individual, but the norms are broader, as in apply to a larger group.
Gender roles of men and women used to be much stricter than today. Men were expected to work and support the family, while women were expected to sit home and take care of household chores. Women who worked were considered to lack a paternal instinct and the husbands would be considered weak and unsupportive. Very rarely were there male nurses, or female carpenters or firefighters.
These roles have recently changed due to social conditions such as the wars, in which there weren’t enough men to hire for weapon factories and such, and women were hired in those cases. This opened many doors to females, doors such as the right to vote. However, though it may seem that females took a step forward in social status, they still haven’t made it to the other side. For instance, females get paid lower wages for working the same hours, with the same task and same amount of effort as males.
Females, just like other minorities, will one day take another step, actually females always take steps, but these steps are small and take a while to add up. And the amazing thing is that they never stop adding up.
Another view of gender roles is in the Muslim religion, where males and females are created equal except have different roles in society. (I am not Muslim). This is a good view, but if men and women are equal, then it wouldn’t matter what roles they take, just as long as someone takes the role, for example, in a family, the wife may work while the husband home sits. I am not sure, but maybe that is the theory behind the Muslim tradition. I am a Catholic, and I am not sure about our gender roles in Christianity. But I do know that our view is similar to the Muslim view. Men and women are equal. They just have different expectations. And sometimes it is necessary to define them, for instance, men cannot give birth, so a woman must take this role in order to continue human existence.
Back to the subject of taking steps, in order for steps to be taken, a problem needs to arise, for instance, a man would need his wife’s support to help their family, and it is a problem if society looks down at that because isn’t marriage about a 50/50 relationship? A wife should be allowed to support her husband if its for the benefit for the family. The second step is for someone to speak up and get support, and defend their arguments. Even though these steps are obvious, they are not that easy for a minority to speak up against tradition and authority, but since it has happened, there is proof that it will continue to happen.
