Journey in Gender Relationship
Introduction
Men and women play a complementary role in the advancement of the mankind species. While the role of each gender is clearly defined when it comes to physiological sphere, it has become a thorny issue to define these roles in the social sphere. This is so, especially when considering that men are the most social beings. Different societies have come to establish a set of social and behavioral norms that are considered appropriate for each sex. These are what are referred to as gender roles. Most societies associate feminism with being; submissive, emotional, docile and less vigorous while the males are associated with being; aggressive, domineering, less emotional and adventurous. Though these traits do not come naturally, the pressure exerted by the society compels most individual to act in this manner. Sometimes these gender roles as defined by the society bring about limitations to our individual freedom and capacities.
Gender Roles
At young age there are usually no much differences between boys and girls. Both gender play together and interact with each other at the same levels. There is little distinction of what a boy should do and what a girl should do. But when an individual approaches the adolescent stage these begin to change. Boys and girls begin to realize there are differences between them and begin to cat different. The society also develops certain expectations on each gender. The society will no longer expect a lady to be aggressive and adventurous as it was at tender years. Girls who previously participated in sports and other vigorous activities, they resign to less adventurous and more lady like activities such as cheering and make ups. The ladies suddenly become fragile, less enthusiastic and less happy. Mary Pipher describes this as a social clash; “Girls who rushed to drink in experiences in Gulps sit quietly at the corner” (Pipher, 305).
Unfortunately, this is the situation for women in most cultures. Many cultures around the world view women as subordinate to men and should therefore not perform the same duties as men. Women are not expected to hold big leadership positions, chair board meeting or run for senior political sit. Instead women are assigned small roles and even in other culture they are restricted to only domestic roles. The traditional role assigned to women by most of our cultures appears to diminish the value and capabilities of women. This phenomenon has only been brought about by the social values of our societies. Those who try to go against these norms are isolated and sidelines by the society. Mary Pipher presents a good example of her cousin Poly, “She tried to keep up with her old ways but way chided for not acting more ladylike. She was excluded by both the boy pals and by the girls…” (Pipher, 303).
The women are not the only victim of the gender norms and expectations imposed by our society; men suffer from these too. According to most cultures, men are expected to display strength, vigor, aggressiveness, sense of adventure and dominance. They are expected to engage in heroic act, provide leadership at home, work and in the society as well as security and protection. In senior high schools, it is boys who participate in more “masculine” activities such as football, baseball and other sports that are more appreciated than boys who would rather participate in quite activities such as arts. William Pollack calls this the boy code. Sometimes these expectations by the society become overwhelming to the men. There are times when men run out of the energy which is much needed to perform all these roles but pressure them selves to keep going so as they would not be viewed as failures by the society.
Similarly, most cultures do not expect males to display their emotions freely. This presents additional pressure to the men. It has become a common phenomenon to find high school boys being bullied and harassed by colleagues and failing to report to the school authority or his parents. This is because of the misconception created by our societies that boys are supposed to be more tolerant to issues. This situation is depicted in Pollack’s description of a conversion between two boys, Chris and Dan. Chris asked Dan what he would do if a senior gives him a hard time, Dan replied; “Come on, Chris. What’s gotten into you? Have you become a little whip or something?” (Pollack, 318). Even in adulthood these expectations still persist. Most cultures do not expect men to display their emotions in public is this will depict a sign of weakness whereas men are supposed to be the symbol of authority.
Conclusion
Every society has its own expectations on how a female and male should act. These are what are referred to as gender roles. Many societies have created the perception that females are supposed to be submissive, weak and less enthusiastic while the males should be vigorous, adventurous and less emotional. Sometimes these expectations limits our individual freedom to act the why we would like and also limit our capacity. This is because there is usually a lot of pressure associated with this norm and those who do not fulfill them are sidelined from the society.
Work Cited
Pipher Mary (). Saplings in the Storm. Journey in Gender Relationships.
Pollack William (). Revising the boy code. Journey in Gender Relationships.
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
