Gender Inequality And Social Problems: Continuity And Change

Eye Opener to Gender Inequality

Have you ever been in a situation where you encounter a very attractive person in a social event? If you are a male you probably have to brush off your shyness to approach that person. On the other hand, if you are a woman you have to patiently wait for that attractive person to notice you and approach you so that you do not come on too strong. This is all part of the script, gender roles, that tells you how you should behave according to your gender. You might wonder who created this script? Elite white heterosexual males in power dominate the status quo, what is normal behavior for someone with your gender. The creation of gender roles and gender norms maintain a woman silent by the bar powerless waiting to be chosen. The fact that it is the norm for a man to approach a woman but deems the opposite as too desperate creates a disparity if you

The the book introduces the topic by defining sex and gender. Sex refers to the biology of your body, there are two aspects within this concept: primary sex characteristics and secondary characteristics. Primary characteristic is the genitalia which you are born with. Secondary sex characteristics has to do with the hormones; distribution of male and female hormones. Gender on the other hand is a societal concept that comes along with gender roles; which is when society places roles on how each gender should act. This is where sexist stereotypes such as “girls like pink and boys like blue” come about. Gender roles become impacted by other factors such as: religion, class, race, culture to name only a few. Culture and other aspects alter what is perceived as the norm; some cultures recognize an androgynous gender, while the concept is still taboo in many cultures. This chapter, assesses how patriarchy prevails given the fact that gender roles create an environment meant to benefit males more than