Gender Roles Essay

Weve begun to raise daughters more care sonsbut few acquit the courage to raise our sons more homogeneous our daughters, (Gloria Steinem, American feminist). Gender roles refer to the banding of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for privates of a specific sex in the context of use of a specific socialisation (Wikipedia). Gender roles are expectations of how an individual should act, dress, talk, walk, etc. based on their sex, which is biological. Gender roles shape the pressures and expectations society places on male and young-bearing(prenominal) individuals. For instance in the old American culture men had to be the main source of income in the family, while women were anticipate to stay family line jam care of the children and do the domestic housework. In the short story Girl Jamacia Kincaid illustrates the feminine roles her set about taught her sireing up and the expectations she needs to meet as a women, a married woman, a nd a mother. In contrast with Kincaid, Michael Kimmels essay Bros in front Hos The Guy Code explores the code of masculinity that young men are expected to follow. Traditional sexual activity roles influence umteen individuals in a positive or negative aspect as they grow and either resist or give in to the expectations within society.Growing up as little girl, my mother would al modalitys teach me the social expectations of the feminine roles associated with our tradition. I would always be playing with dolls, dressing in skirts, putting bows in my hair, pretending to be a princess and acting like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz always clicking my sparkly red shoes. However, the pressures and expectations of the gender roles associated to your sex are more profound as you grow into an adult. As I grew into a young woman the expectations I had and still to this day have to meet are much more demanding and expected. Kincaid states, This is how you set a table for dinner this is how you set a table for dinner with an important guest this is how you set a table for lunch this is how to behave in the presence of men who dont know you very well (385). Kincaid explains some of the feminine demands and expectationsher mother would teach her growing up. Similar to Kincaid experience, my mother would also establish the feminine roles and demands that I needed to accept and fulfill from the expectations that have been set forth from generations of women. However, the expectations I needed to meet to fulfill the duties as a wife and mother conflicted with my expectations of not commanding to be a wife or mother at all, but to establish and purse a stable career for myself.The view of femininity in the culture I was raised with compared to old American culture of the 50s and 60s. Women were seen as objects, accessories. Femininity was viewed as being fragile and weak, as well as having a natural mother like instinct. Women in my culture are defined as being dependent on a man, stay phratry do the groceries shopping, clean the kitchen, prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner, weightlift their husbands shirt and pants, wash every day, even if its with their own spit (Kincaid 385), keep the household in order, and be the perfect wife, mother, and women or at to the lowest degree pretend to be. However, these traditional views of what feminine roles are defined as conflict with the mainstream American culture of todays feminine expectations. Women in todays culture are defined as either the main source of income or contribute the equal amount of income with their spouse. Women are seen as independent and many women have established stable careers. In Bros before Hos Kimmel asked a female college student what it meat to be a women she stated, Nobody can tell me what it means to be a women anymore (462). In modern American society being a woman has no concrete formulated expectation or role that she is expected to fulfill.Although in todays modern Amer ican society views women differently as they once did, my culture still views women in a more traditional aspect. These conflicts or being independent or dependent, pursuing a career or being a domestic house wife and mother affect both expectations I have to meet with my family culture and the culture I was born into. Being one of the youngest girl in my family I would observe my cousins and see them being pressure of the roles and expectations that where concretely defined in my cultures view of femininity. Their decisions of following the domestic housewife roleaffected me to resist these pressures, while they did not and gave me the courage to fulfill my and modern American societys expectations of what being a woman is and not just stay at home and spend all my husbands money because I have nothing better to do.Gender roles have always been a social issue that shape the way we think of others. These roles perceive women as fragile and weak, while men are seen as aggressive and show little to no emotion. Gender roles can divert from one culture to another and have different expectations associated with masculine and feminine roles individuals have to obtain. Gender expectation such as women have to stay home and do the domestic housework, while men are the source of the primary income can either conflict or reinstate the expectations of you. These roles can affect an individual either in a positive or negative ways, whether or not they want to override the social norm of what society says is acceptable or give into the pressure of the roles society established for each gender. The gender roles ones culture establishes or society establishes becomes more overwhelming as we grow older, enforcing these expectations further. Also, your cultures view of masculinity or femininity may conflict with mainstream American culture and a rise conflicts for an individual. Its up to them whether they want to endure the pressures or resist the pressures of traditional ge nder roles or modern American gender roles. Word Count 1,025Reference PageKincaid, Jamaica. Girl. Boston, Mass. Bedford/St. Martins, (2013) 384-386. Print Kimmel, Michael. Bros before Hoes The Guy Code. Boston, Mass. Bedford/St. Martins, (2013) 461-471. Print.