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Gender roles in society
Gender inequality throughout time
How does culture influence gender identity
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Recommended: Gender roles in society
“Gender”, how much has it changed?
Gender inequality is living, breathing fact. An unholy entity that can be traced back to the 1800s with solutions only just now trickling in during the late 1900s. Gender inequality manifests predominantly within gender roles. Gender is the difference between males and females. It also represents the roles that we are expected to play in society; and also defining how gender roles can cause chaos.
Gender is the state of being male or female. It is commonly used to define cultural and social differences instead of biological ones. Taking a look at history, women were not allowed to own property or inherit money until the 1870s with The Married Woman Property Act. They weren’t even given the right to vote till the 1920’s. even then, genders were not on equal footing Until finally, in 1923 the Equal Rights Amendments
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Equality and Equity are both strategies that produce fairness. Equality is treating everyone the same; but it can only be if everyone starts at the same position and needs the same help. On the other hand, equity is giving everyone what it is that they need to reach the goal intended. When reading “Boys and Men Must Be Included in the Conversation on Equality” by Andrea Cornwall; it can be gathered that the only way to end gender bias is to teach Men, young and old, about what is going on and stop treating boys different because everyone should be evolving. Woman are expected to be emotional, passive, sensitive, quiet, graceful, innocent, weak, nurturing, self-critical, soft, sexually submissive, and accepting. Anything other than this is said to be “un-lady like”. If men show any of these behaviors, they are considered feminine and thought less of a man. A man should behave with independence, be non-emotional, aggressive, tough-skinned, competitive, experienced, strong, active, self-confident, hard, and even sexually
While sex refers the biological characteristics that make up a person, their gender is determined by the behaviors and attitudes considered “proper” by society according to their sex.
Gender inequality has proven to be a large obstacle in many aspects of women’s lives. America has made large progress over several decades, providing mostly equal pay, mostly equal rights, and mostly equal opportunities. However, in a first world society like America, mostly equal does not mean enough. Women and men are inherently different creatures, but does that mean that inequality will always exist in one way or another? Are there some forms of inequality that are acceptable? According to the Encyclopedia of Governance, “answers depend on the degree to which one thinks women's and men's capacities differ, what should be equalized, and by what means” (ENCYCLOPEDIA). One thing is certain though; there is still progress to be made towards true gender equality.
The world one lives in it happens to grasp that all humans are designed as equals. This is far-off from reality based on how this society is operating. The principle of equality does not imply that everyone is the same, nevertheless that everyone should be treated as equals unless special circumstances apply. When it comes to the two sexes, everything that comes in its bounds is either biased intentionally or unintentionally, either way it continues. A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating what is acceptable or appropriate for a person’s sex. One could be aware of the characteristics and factors of identity that enables others to treat another differently by analyzing the aspects of society through race, religion, language, sexual orientation, economic status and also the level of education. The theory of equality is somewhat understandable, but what about the female population? Where is their equality in this society?
Gender is not about the biological differences between men and women but rather the behavioral, cultural and psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Gender is socially constructed meaning it 's culturally specific, it 's learned and shared through gender socialization. What it means to be a woman or man is going to differ based on the culture, geographical location, and time. What it meant to be a woman in the US in the 19th century is different than what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. As cultures evolve over time so are the ideals of what it means to be man or woman.
The issue of gender inequality will never truly be solved in the United States. This arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles as well as biologically through hormonal differences, chromosomes, and brain structures. Gender inequality is defined as unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on gender. One of the reasons for gender inequality is income disparities. Another reason is because of the positions in the workplace. Thirdly, the reason is because of beliefs that one another has. For these reasons is why these situations should be examined to get to the root of the problem.
Gender Inequality has always been in issue since the beginning of time. For some it’s not an issue it’s just a way of life, women are taught to be submissive and obedient to their male counterparts. Women’s sole purpose is to bear children, raise and nurture them, run the household as far as cooking and cleaning and to take care for their husband and his needs. This has been an idea that goes across many cultures in different parts of the world for centuries, passed down from generation and generations. Those days are long gone or are they really? Over the years women have made great strides in gaining equal rights as man, but for some cultures women are unequal to their male counterparts despite how far the fight for women equality have
Gender inequality refers to the inequality between men and women, or the unequal treatment or perception of a person based on his or her gender. Gender inequality is almost always prominent towards a female, rather than towards a male. Women are seen as inferior to men in every country in the world. This form of society is called patriarchal and is one of the biggest issues in American society today. Patriarchy means that the country has a primarily male-dominated society.
“Gender”: refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.[2]
While the terms “gender” and “sex” are often used interchangeably, the two words have significantly different definitions. One could argue that sex refers to biological essentialism and the idea that we are who we are because of our genetic material. On the other hand, gender is associated with the social constructionist theory, which argues that the way we are is dependent on our race, class, and sexuality. Because each person is different in their race, class, and sexuality, their gender becomes socially constructed. To argue that gender is not socially constructed would be to say that all people, for example, that are biologically female have the same goals. However, this cannot be true because within the sphere of being female, that individual person varies from the next in their race, class, and/or sexuality, each of which affect their goals and perspectives differently from their sister, friend, and neighbor. One’s gender identity refers to his or her perception of self as a male or female, as well as being masculine or feminine. Because masculinity and femininity are fluid, rather than static, they are dependent on the perspective of the beholder. A person’s perspective is often influenced by their surroundings as well as values with which they were raised, both of which are never identical between two people. Race, class, and sexuality are the underlying factors that influence perspectives and values, thus differentiating the understanding and portrayal of gender identity from one person to another.
Gender inequality is “the unfair treatment of an applicant or employee because of the person’s sex”. Gender inequality or gender discrimination is illegal. Gender inequality did not only start in the workplace. It began before that. In history women were always expected to be the ones at home taking care of children, while the men were the breadwinners of the family.
According to Crapo, (2013), “Gender defines the social statuses and roles into which people are socialized based on cultural concepts about the sexes” (sec. 5.1). Society considers the sex of a person and then determines how they should act and the roles they will play. Humans are considered to be male or female, and their roles or gender is determined by the society in which they live. Cultural differences shape the way that women and men are perceived in their social environment, and these differences also influence how gender is
Less than a hundred years ago women had the courage to work outside of their homes and began to fights for their rights. In return women were treated unequal and were not provided with the same amount of education or women from their job. If men and women were treated equal, then the man would be able to do the women’s job and the women would be able to do the mans job. This amount of equality would knock out the stereotypical labels of what jobs a man and women should do. The world would be a less disrespectful and judgmental place if there were equality. If everyone agreed on equal rights, then the world would be a happy
However, the male gender distinctly has a larger variety of rights and opportunities in contradistinction to females. An example of this is, even in developed countries such as the UK, a gender pay gap of 15% exists with women on average earning £5,000 less a year than their male colleagues. The percentage of the gender pay gap is even greater for part-time jobs, going up to 35%. There can be no acceptable justification for this as your gender should not determine how much you get paid for a job. Women are being paid less for working efficiently for the same hours simply because they are women. Your gender defines you biologically, some may say emotionally (which again is an overlooked issue of gender inequality) but in no way does it determine how competent you are at a job. Without a doubt, there are males in a workplace who lack sufficient amount of knowledge and skill to be in the position they are currently at but are simply handed that position for the reason that their opposition is a female. In many cases, jobs which require similar skills, experiences and qualifications, pay workers less if dominated by women rather than men since men are seen as being more efficient than women for physical tasks. This shows again how a human’s gender brews up unfair
Gender, on the other hand, refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This teaches males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image, they will be referred to as a tomboy.
Before trying to discover if men and women can share equality, a clear definition of “equality” should be established. According to Dictionary.com, “equality” is defined as “the state or quality in being uniform in operation or effect; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability.” So what is the significance of the definition of equality to gender equality? How does the word affect the question asked? Overall, this changes what exactly men and women can be equal in, which includes rankings, abilities, and opportunities whether that be in education, the work force, or in any other environment.