Matsumoto (2001) states in virtually all human groups, women have greater responsibility for domestic activities, while men have greater responsibility for external activities (pg. 197). Therefore under such conditional thinking, one would naturally assume the male to have more of a presence in the household than the woman. Gender roles, sex role ideology, and gender stereotypes represent the way culture displays its belief in what they considered appropriate behavior from both male and female.
Socialization agents are factors within our culture that not only affects us as individuals, but the society in which we reside; sources from which we learn about ourselves and our culture. What’s socially acceptable for women in American culture, may pose as disobedience in another. This proves to be true in individualism culture of Americans as opposed to collectivism culture found in South Africans.
Makanga (2011) claims there is always been an imbalance in African cultures, though in female to male ratio women far exceed men, they remain underserved and unrecognized as holding significant value. This is due to traditions and beliefs passed on for generations, viewed as the only accepted way of living. The structure in the home puts the male at the head of the house, and the women as a quote on quote help mate. She is expected to bear children, nurture them, and provide for the household. Islamic views weigh heavily in choices made, one of them implying the man of the house is allowed to take in four wives. According to Chinelo (2013) it fulfills the terms of infertility, sexual prowess, the number of female births in comparison to male children (para 4). If the African male decides polygamy, it is suggested that he be capable of lovin...
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...ons, I believe I would be the one to take a stand. I’ve known women to do it, and still doing it today. Which may contribute to the fact of them coming the US to get their education.
References
Chinelo. (2013). Nigeria: Polygamy-why men marry more women. Retrieved from http://m.allafrica.com/stories/201306140218.html/
Matsumoto. (2001). The Handbook of Culture and Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Mukanga. (2011). Understanding Gender Relations, Culture and Development in Africa. Retrieved from http://arterialnetwork2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/understanding-gender-relations-culture.html
The role of Women in Post-Independent Africa. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.karibu-stenger.net/en/articles/women-in-post-independent-africa.shtml
Wang, P., & Taylor. (2013). Breadwinner Moms. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/29/breadwinner-moms/
Rhode, D. (2000). Culture Establishes Gender Roles.Male/female roles: opposing viewpoints (pp. 22-24). San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press
Gender Roles. A hot button topic that has become a topic of conversation for years now. When we think of Gender roles what things come to mind? With Men we often think of qualities such as strength, toughness, bravery, and masculinity and being a Husband. With Women we often think of characteristics such as: care taker, Wife, nurturing, cooking/ cleaning, and often very supportive. But another big question that we should be asking ourselves is where and how these gender roles and stereotypes have come from? And for the answer to that question we should look to our media consumption. For years now TV shows and Movies have truly shaped what gender roles should be in our society. These ideas are planted in our minds even at a young age, whether
In contrast, men have been seen as more dominate than women because of their masculine abilities and other traits and most importantly their profound responsibility of being the provider and head of the household. Americans constantly uses theses two distinct stereotypes that in many cases present many biases regarding gender codes in America. Things have changed over time the women are no longer just house wives taking care of the house and children waiting for their husband to come home from his nine to five occupations. Andrea L. Miller explains in her article “The Separate Spheres Model of Gendered Inequality” that, “A common theme in the study of gender is the idea that men and women belong in distinct spheres of society, with men being particularly fit for the workplace and women being particularly fit for the domestic domain” (Miller 2). Miller gives two very specific examples on how gender is viewed in American
Let’s first start with “The Origins of Sex Differences in Human Behavior” (Eagly 1999). Eagly’s social structure origin theory proposes that men and women are psychologically different because their social roles generally differ. For example, historically, men have taken on the role of providing for their family with money and protection, playing the patron of the family. Women, however, have taken on the role of a nurture-giving guardian, playing a lesser part than their partner in making decisions regarding the family. For the most part, men are seen as the “man of the house” who puts dinner on the table and clothes on our backs while women...
Cultural norms and expectations are partially constructed on assumptions of opposition between the sexes and genders. Sex and gender are measured on a binary scale, and culturally accepted behavior and sanctioned activities often reflect the sexual division of labor. The sexual division of labor assigns sex roles based on the differences in biology and anatomy of the two sexes. The sexual division of labor favors masculine over feminine traits. The sex roles created are adopted and reproduced in gender roles that reflect cultural expectations. These cultural expectations and norms reflect a preference for masculinity and legitimize the dominance of men in institutions and
For example, males are identified as the head of the household and the provider for the family. This concept affects society because women are told that they should be nurtures and should be dedicated to their children. This shows that women were told that they shouldn’t work and should instead focus on being a housewife. This results in the mother and children being dependent on the father. Men are told that they should provide financial support for the family. Also, men are the authority in the household because they discipline their children. Ridgeway says” Gender beliefs are a continual referent for people’s own behavior and sense of identity in the home, and because household tasks themselves carry a gendered connotation, the performance or non-performance of those tasks can be a symbolic gender display for the person “(135).So, gender beliefs effect on how we view gender in the household because it is based on expectations of gender roles. Moreover, gender in household affects household division because women spend more time in the household. For example, since males are the providers they are rarely at home. They are not able to help with household duties. The mother does all the housework in the household. Also .the mother spends her whole time attending to the children and doing chores. Ridgeway says “One way to see the power of gender as an organizing force in the household division of is to examine that extent to which people sex category alone predicts the amount and nature of the household work they do in comparison to their other identities” (139) .Household division the results would show that the women do more household chores than
Gender roles are stereotypical labels placed on males and females within a specific culture. In addition, gender stereotypes for males and females are products of cultural aspects rather than their physical differences (Kincaid, 2013). As time inevitably progresses through history, a coherent pattern can be identified in regards to changes in gender stereotypes. These changes in gender roles are directly correlated with the alterations in societal advancement. The changes in societal and cultural development over the course of history can be thoroughly recognized in specifically Japanese culture. Although gender roles in Japanese culture deviates from western norms, perpetual emphasis is placed in adopting desirable characteristics for men and women in media and society (Kincaid, 2013). Contrarily, professional studies, conducted by Yoko Sugihara and Emiko Katsurada, indicate that gender role differences in contemporary society are diminishing as time progresses (Yoko and Katsurada, 2002).
Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need to do severe critical thinking about this delusion of gender, how has limited us in the home, media, and education, how it currently limits us, and what the results of the current and future changes in gender roles will be.
A good example of socialization is the learning of gender roles. Anthropologist Margaret Mead reasoned that if gender reflects biological facts of sex, that people everywhere in the world would define the same traits as masculine or feminine. However, she argued, that if gender is cultural, such conceptions should vary. Mead researched three societies in New Guinea and concluded that “culture is the key to how sexes differ.” [Macionis et al. p233]
Sex Role Theory–expands upon this assumption and proposes that women and men learn appropriate gender roles through socialization within the culture of the family and wider society (Isaacs,
For many years society has embraced the idea that the differences between men and women are biologically determined and certain roles, behaviors and attitudes constructed by society assign and control how men and women behave and are perceived. Sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. Gender roles prescribe norms, which instruct people to pursue specific careers and lifestyles.
Your culture is what influences the way in which individuals view society. Today television shows, social media, family, and peers influences gender stereotypes. For example, in a household on television it will show a family with a mom, dad, sister, and brother. The dad works and comes home at the end of the day to a clean house and a freshly cooked meal, that his wife prepared. Seeing this would allow an individual to assume that is what a normal household looks like and functions. Which keeps gender stereotypes running of the man being the provider of the household and the woman being the stay at home mom. However, there are individuals in society who breaks gender stereotypes. Sometimes women are single parents and the only providers in a household. There are even stay at home dads who cook, clean, and take care of the children, while their wives work. There are families that are separated due to divorce. Although those families may not be the “normal” household it holds no lesser value than what society calls a regular
The traditional gender roles have been slowly blurred over time. Traditional mid-20th-century American gender roles separate the roles of men and women within a household. Men were the head of household and then the women obeyed their husband. Within the last thirty years, the distinction between the two genders has slowly become equal in the workplace and in daily life.
Gender is defined as the scopes of genetic, physical, mental and behaviour characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and feminity, meanwhile inequality is defined as in a situation where there is an unfair situation or treatment in which certain people have more privileges or better opportunities or chances than other people. Thus, from the definition stated gender inequality refers to unequal or unfair management, treatment, or perceptions of persons or individuals are based on their gender. In a parallel sense, gender inequality can be said as the world in which there was discrimination against anyone based on gender. In this introductory, the general understanding of gender inequalities will be discussed further into three significant factors that influence the allocation of housework between men and women. Household chores can be classified as cleaning, cooking and paying bills. Division of housework serves as an important element in the continuation of the function of a family and it requires contribution from both spouses (Tang, 2012). However, current society’s perception on housework is based on gender, so the three major factors that influence the division of household chores within the couples are education level, economic resources, and time availability (refer to Figure1 in Appendix 1).
Gender roles are extremely important to the functioning of families. The family is one of the most important institutions. It can be nurturing, empowering, and strong. Some families are still very traditional. The woman or mother of the family stays at home to take care of the children and household duties. The man or father figure goes to work so that he can provide for his family. Many people believe that this is the way that things should be. Gender determines the expectations for the family. This review will explain those expectations and how it affects the family.