The moment we are born, we are identified as a certain gender. Based on the gender we receive, there are society norms and rules in place. These roles have started at a young age and they become a part of our daily lives. After a while we do not even think about our behavior. Gender roles can be based on our actions, personality, characteristics and beliefs. We feel the pressure to perform how society expects us to from a young age. According to the Judith Lober article, "To explain to why gendering is done from birth, constantly and by everyone, we have to look not only to at the way individuals experience gender but at gender as a social institution." A social institution is created by values and categorized by people. Each gender has certain tasks that they must perform and complete.
In these gender roles men are usually held to a higher standard than women. Men are seen to be more assertive and aggressive. In contrast, women are seen to more sensitive and docile. These two different expectations out of both men and women creates a ranking. Women can often become left out and not seen to the full potential that they can achieve. Especially, in the workplace where men are more appreciated and expected to fill higher position roles, as we discussed in class on Tuesday. In the Animals Models and Gender it states, "While competition among males for the rights to mate with a female seemed reasonable enough to Darwin's Victorian contemporaries, virtually none of them could swallow the idea that females- of any species, but especially the some called dumb animals- could possibly do anything so complex as discriminating between males with slightly different plumage colors." Although men are held to a higher standard, women can still have the opportunity to have the same goals as men. In addition, according to an article by the LA Times men are stuck in gender roles, believing that women should stay at home with kids instead of the fathers.
The reason we have gender is to be able to feel like we have an identity. Also, to be able to have people figured out and in certain categories. It makes us feel more comfortable in our skin knowing what is allowed and what is not. On the other hand, some gender roles can be discriminating. Maybe society would function better if people had the same standards for each genre, or do these roles create structure? Gender roles has advantages and disadvantages, but it all depends how we all treat each other.
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