Gender Roles in Modern Society

Gender Roles in Modern Society

ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Gender Roles in Modern Society   

Gender Roles in Modern Society

Gender Roles in Modern Society: Today we live in a world that continually stresses to us that, “All men are created equal.” While this sounds great at face value, further inspection tells us that this is far from realistic and sadly may never be. One can examine any aspect of society whether it be race, religion, language, level of education, sexual orientation or economic status and notice that there are numerous characteristics and factors of identity that enable others to treat others differently. This truth may not be pleasant or make one feel all warm and fuzzy inside, however it is our society’s reality, however dismal it may be. Even if the statement above as to the equality of all men were true, how about women? Clearly women have made tremendous strides towards equality in recent decades however; we still live in a society in which the worth of women is measured in their physical appearance and not their intellectual contribution or talents. It is not an unknown secret that many women are paid considerably less than men for doing the same type of work. What effect does this obvious gap between men and women have on our nation’s female population? The effect of this is the unconscious perpetuation of the understanding that women are inferior to men in our society. This also stands in direct contradiction to the claim that we are all created equal. This gap between men and women can be seen in countless social arenas, such as, the workplace, the average household, educational institutions, the Catholic Church and even in our nation’s government. This inequality between men and women is not something new to our country or even the world for that matter. However, it is a phenomenon that is rarely discussed and is in dire need of investigation and scholarship. Through study and discussion, this will create an awareness of the situation that will undoubtedly assist in closing the gap between men and women.

Insert your name and surname in the space provided above, as well as in the file name. Save the file as: First name Surname Assignment 4 – e.g. Lilly Smith Assignment 4. NB: Please ensure that you use the name that appears in your student profile on the Online Campus.
One of the topics that falls under the umbrella term of “female persecution” is how society views and understands both men and women in regards to sexual relations. As we grow up we learn from our parents and also through various forms of media that sex occurs between two people who share a deep love for one another and in most cases marriage as well. As we mature and grow more aware of our surroundings society teaches us that this is not how sex usually occurs. Men and women are enlightened to a variety of social differences in regards to sex through society. One of the most prevalent double standards seen between males and females is when non marital sexual relations are acceptable for males, but not for females. This can be seen throughout all ages starting in the early teen years all the way through adulthood. Males who have a lot of sexual relations are socially accepted, where as, females who have multiple sex partners are usually looked down upon. Traditionally, men and women have been subjected to different “rules” guiding sexual behavior. Women were stigmatized for engaging in any sexual activity outside of the heterosexual marriage, whereas for men such behavior was expected and rewarded. Boys had to “sow their wild oats,” but girls were warned that a future husband “won’t buy the cow if he can get the milk for free” (Crawford and Popp 1).
Many people assume that differences in sexual desire have a lot to do with whether a person is female or male. In large representative surveys about sexual behavior, the men as a group inevitable report more frequent sex, with more partners, and in more diverse ways than the women as a group do. Many observers argue that when it comes to sex, men and women have fundamentally different biological wiring. Others use the evidence to argue that culture has produced marked sexual differences. However, it is hard to tease apart biological differences and social differences. As soon as a baby enters the world, it receives messages about gender and sexuality. In the United States, for example, disposable diapers come adorned in pink for girls and blue for boys. In case people aren’t sure whether to treat the baby as masculine or feminine in its first year of life, the diaper signals them. The assumption is that girl babies really are different from boy babies and the difference ought to be displayed. This different treatment continues throughout life, therefore a sex difference at birth become amplified into gender difference as people mature (Schwartz 4). Gendered experiences have a great deal of influence on sexual desire. As a boy enters adolescence, he hears jokes about boys’ uncontainable desire. Girls are told the same thing and told that their job is to resist. These gender messages have power not only over attitudes and behavior, such as, whether a person grows up to prefer sex with a lover rather than a stranger, but also over physical and biological experience. For example, a girl may be discouraged from vigorous competitive activity, which will subsequently influence how she develops physically, how she feels about her body, and even how she relates to the adrenaline rush associated with physical competition. Hypothetically, a person who is accustomed to adrenaline responses experiences sexual attraction differently from one who is not (Schwartz 5).

In women, a history of sexual activity is not taken to suggest experience in a positive sense, expertise, and high-quality sex. On the contrary, it is seen as a negative mark that marks off a certain kind of woman; which can be labeled as “loose” or “easy”. In our society, women have become to be valued for their innocence. And those who aren’t what we could classify as innocent or pure are looked down upon in many aspects (Primoratz 106). The control of women and their sexuality usually corresponds with women’s status, power and civil rights in a given society. In strictly patriarchal countries, where women are second-class citizens, sexuality is tightly controlled. Furthermore, female sexuality is more guarded in societies where family name and reputation is a key to power (Schwartz 74).

With women in society today we place a much greater amount of pressure and importance on the way a female dresses, does her make up and her basic overall appearance. We are also much quicker to judge and label her by her clothes than we are with men. When women are seen wearing short, skimpy outfits many people automatically assume many things about her. Some of them may include, that by dressing this way she only wants attention from men, she doesn’t respect herself or her body and she must sleep around or she wouldn’t want people looking at her like that. Even if a woman was dressed very conservatively in a nice tailored business suit some would define her as prude or uptight. When a man is judged or labeled by his clothing it relates more to personality traits such as, if he were in a nice business suit he would be viewed as an intelligent, hard working business man and if he were casual in shorts and t-shirt he might be looked as lazy or easy going.

 

Gender Roles in Modern Society

Gender Roles in Modern Society

.