1 page peer review needed

Claire Gatesy

Every society has their own set of gender roles; they may believe in these roles because of religion, tradition or culture, no matter the reason gender roles create inequality between the genders. Traditionally they put males into a position of power and females into a position of weakness. Often gender roles justify poor behavior, for example when manhood is shamed gender roles allow men to act out in violence because they are in a position of power. There is no evidence that traditional gender roles keep society afloat, if we demolish genders society will not fall apart. Societies view on traditional roles negatively impact both males and females, they cause disruptions in home life and work life, as well as excuse poor behavior. As a society, we need to destroy gender roles and create equality between men and women.

There is a theory that gender roles sow the seeds of violence; this theory acts as an excuse for anyone acting in a violent manner. Carol and James Gilligan devote their time to studying what causes violence in both males and females. (Lehoczky, 2000) The couple supports the idea that when manhood is shamed, men are pushed to be violent. This idea implies that anyone who shames a man’s manhood is at fault for violent acts committed upon them. There are some people that believe woman deserve violence, or ask for violence because of the way they dress and act. Male supremacy is a problem society faces.

If anyone commits violent acts they alone are responsible for their actions. If the idea that violence from men is acceptable because that is their genders role than that would mean men are exempt from being victims of violence. This is not the case; males experience violence from both males and females. Violence does not discriminate against sex, age, religion, socio-economic status, or ethnicity. People are shocked by sexual violence when it happens to a male, but when sexual violence effects females no one is shocked. We have become numb to sexual violence towards women. That it unacceptable, sexual violence affects both males and females and each gender deserves respect if it occurs to them. Gender roles are used to justify poor behavior; this is only one of many reasons society need to abolish gender roles.

Traditionally female stereotypes are nurturing, submissive, passive, home-oriented, sensitive and emotional among other things. Both males and females should have the option to embrace these characteristics, they should not be forced upon anyone. Females are beginning to break out of their stereotype by joining male dominated work forces and becoming the breadwinner in their family. In every one out of three households, the female out earns the male, a figure that has been increasing since 2000. (Goodman, 2008) The shift in financial power effects both men and women. Some men are supportive and have taken on the responsibility of household work while other men find it emasculating; in these cases, the men still expect their female partner to be responsible for domestic housework. Women who are the breadwinner will sometimes begin to feel resentful that they oversee both the household’s financial obligations and the domestic responsibilities. To make these modern relationships work, couples need to have frank discussions early on, frequent communication and marital troubleshooting skills. (Goodman, 2008)

Women becoming the breadwinners in families is fueled by the fact that more woman than men have college degrees. (Los Angeles Times, 2007) Women now make up close to half of medical and law students, which results in lucrative careers. Some women believe they need to be better trained than men to succeed, this belief is powering the education gap. The belief that a female must work harder than a male at the same job is another example of unfair traditional gender roles. (Los Angeles Times, 2007) Women are flourishing in their careers, they are balancing home life and work life, and working long past when their husbands retire. In the past when husbands retired so did their wives, it wasn’t required but it was the norm. (Rubin, 1998)

It is not only women who are changing employment statistics, men are also causing a shift by entering female dominated fields. There is an increase in male nannies or ‘manny’, which is traditionally thought of as a female field. Adam Good is a manny in Washington, D.C. He does the grocery shopping, laundry, and cooking. He is proud of his career choice, “I love being with kids. It’s weird to think that not hanging out with kids is considered manly. What does that say about our roles?” (Schulte, 2006) Females are considered the nurturing gender but that is not always true. It is misleading to say the vast majority of males don’t care, when the vast majority of females don’t care, either. (Schulte, 2006) Evolving gender expectations is a reason behind the increase in male caregivers.

Another influence on the increase of male caregivers is unemployment rate. The nation’s unemployment rate is high which is causing both men and women to cross the gender divide in the workplace. The number of men in a basic nursing program grew from 6 percent in 2006 to 15 percent in 2010. (Rubin, 2011) Males are the not the only gender impacted by unemployment, women are becoming more numerous in fields such as information technology, criminal justice and fire science. (Rubin, 2011) Men and woman are making significant strides by breaking though gender specific work fields, it is one of the last barriers to true gender equality.

Breaking barriers in the work place is a only step in breaking gender roles altogether. Creating conversations about how there are no definite rules or boundaries regarding gender roles is an excellent way to break societies view. Conversations such as the one led by Mary Ann Spina and Dr. Audrey Gordon, the pair co-led an interfaith class titled “Male and Female in the Bible” which examined gender roles and duties in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. (Liebenson, 2014) The description of the class was to examine “gender role definitions and how these roles came to be defined”. The goal of the class was to find common ground and to get people to see how we are more alike than different. (Liebenson, 2014) By presenting differences but not focusing on them the class could concentrate on the similarities that bring everyone together. The conversations created in this class broke down gender role barriers. If people felt more comfortable to openly live outside of their genders stereotype

Some people argue that gender roles give a place to everyone in society. Everyone will know what is expected of them and how they should behave. In the case of females, they would be indecisive, emotional, nurturing, verbal, very desirous of security and sensitive. Males would be dominant, decisive, tough, aggressive, cruel, logical and analytical. However, both males and females have characters typically described for the opposite sex. Gender roles don’t make life easier; they don’t give people a place in society; they create divides and hold people back from their full potential. Removing gender stereotypes from society would allow everyone to truly be who they want to be without judgment.

One of the biggest groups taking a stand against gender roles are the Arts. Artists such as Lorna Simpson are challenging the way we look at people. In the early 1990’s she created a sequence of photographs titled “She”, which presents imagines of an ambiguous model dressed in a man’s suit. Through her art, Simpson takes viewers to a precarious edge where self-possession falls away within social structures and suffocating roles that deny individual identity. (Foerstner, 1992) The emotional impact of the artwork encourages viewers to shift their perspective on gender role. Visual communication regarding gender roles are just as important as verbal communication. It lets the onlooker to see how different the world could be without traditional gender roles.

Gender roles in every society need to be demolished. Without traditional gender roles society, would flourish, men and woman would be allowed to reach their individual potential and create equality between the genders. Through both verbal and visual communication, we can break down gender role barriers. Removing stereotypical gender roles will bring humanity closer together. If we want to create equality at the work place and at home gender roles need to be removed.

Cindy Krischer Goodman (04, June 2008). What Happens When Wife Earns More? Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-06-04/features/0806020342_1_gender-roles-household-couples

Vikki Ortiz Healy (14, February 2012). The Increasingly Male Face of Caregivers. Men’s role in tending to loved ones with Alzheimer’s, dementia soars amid evolving views on gender roles, longer lives Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-14/news/ct-met-caregiver-valentine-20120214_1_male-caregivers-family-caregiver-alliance-alzheimer-s-association

Donald Liebenson (05, January 2014). Interfaith class will examine gender roles. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-05/news/ct-faith-charity-lk-tl-0109-20140105_1_gender-roles-gordon-class-size

Etelka Lechoczky (08, November 2008). Chicago Tribune “Gender Roles Sow The Seeds Of Violence, Researchers Say” Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-11-08/features/0011080272_1_gender-roles-violence-carol-gilligan

Daria Sokolova (10, May 2014). OCC Rally Focuses on Sexual Violence. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-10/news/ct-oakton-take-back-the-night-tl-nnw-20140510_1_sexual-violence-assault-awareness-month-gender-roles

Bonnie Miller Rubin (23, February 2011). Trading Places: Unemployed Challenging Gender Roles. Men, women trying hands at jobs typically associated with opposite sex. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-23/news/ct-x-s-gender-jobs-0223-20110223_1_male-jobs-female-dominated-careers-gender

Abigail Foerstner (20, November 1992). Simpson Challenges Racial and Gender Stereotypes. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-11-20/entertainment/9204160159_1_lorna-simpson-african-american-simpson-show

Brigid Schulte (30, July 2006) ‘Manny,’ A Rate Bird, Flies in The Face of Convention. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-07-30/news/0607300189_1_manny-gender-roles-male-nanny

Los Angeles Times (12, February 2007) The Salary Situation. Many Wives Becoming The Main Breadwinners Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-02-12/news/0702130001_1_gender-differences-gender-roles-men-have-college-degrees

Bonnie Miller Rubin (8, February 1998) When He’s Retiring and She Isn’t. For Some Couples, Shifting Work Roles Lead to Conflicts. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-02-08/news/9802080252_1_husbands-gender-roles-couples