Gender Roles In Society

Gender Roles

Gender Roles; a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex. In many societies the role of women and men have been diverged in different areas throughout life, whether it be home, the workplace, or marriage. In some societies it 's normal for the women to be the caregiver, while in the majority of others the women is there to take care of the children, keep the house clean, and their husband happy. Though these roles vary from traditional roles to modern roles, they all affect children and society as a whole. Not to say they have not changed greatly throughout the years. Gender roles are deeply defined

The Beginning

As early as the late 1800’s both girl and boy infants were dressed in white, the main reason being it was bleachable making it easier to clean. Pastel colors were introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. Even as the shift to gender specific clothing began it started off as blue for girls and pink for boys “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." according to Ladies Home Journal in 1918. It wasn 't until about the 1940’s (the same time as the Baby Boomers were born) that stores and designers decided that pink would be for girls and blue for boys.

You may be wondering how can one enforce such a thing through an alternate reality, yet it 's quite simple.According to Jimmy Palmer, “Men use considerably more gender-marked language than women, who prefer inclusive connotation”, in this same study it was stated “I feel that more and more is expected for women… to have careers but they are also supposed to handle being a full time mother, keeping up with looks, and clean the house along with their careers.” (Female Subject C). Not only can this type of enforcement be seen on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, it can also be seen on messaging on video games. Throughout the last couple of years girl gamers have been on the rise yet “Critics contend that female game creators and programmers are underrepresented, and some even claim that women are intentionally marginalized.” (Gender Roles in the Gaming Community). Not only are the creators underrepresented but female gamers are still considered a joke to many people. Pictures of girls playing video games in little to nothing clothing does not help this