Same Sex Relationships By Stephen Mays Summary

In What about Gender Roles in Same-Sex Relationships?, Stephen Mays critiques various gender stereotypes, including ones affecting gay people and straight people, both men and women. In Mays opinion, gender roles do not determine sex (male or female), therefore I agree with the author’s point of view that what a partner in a same-sex relationship may decide to do in a relationship is not pre-determined by their biological sex.Mays stated, “[d]espite sexual orientation, some people simply demonstrate more masculine qualities or more feminine qualities” (719). In gender roles, a male or female in the past was based on societies’ definitions that they are supposed to practice something that defines or pertains to their role in the relationship.

If a woman can work more than the man, or if the man can cook more than the woman in an opposite-sex relationship without being considered as a change in sex in the relationship, then the same should apply to a couple of the opposite sex. Mays concludes, “[i]n the case of a gay male relationship, however, the key point is that neither of us is the girl of the relationship, no matter which side of the scale we fall on” (Mays, 719).To simply explain it, Mays also concludes that “[w]hen it boils down to it, all of us, gay and straight alike comprise many characteristics-some are considered masculine, and some are considered feminine” (719). Thus, whichever the sex the person belongs to does not determine their gender role in a relationship. Having straight, and gay couples as friends has provided me with the insight that allows me to see my friends as the sex they are, yet capable of practicing any responsibilities, or characteristics that a traditional gender role might practice. In a lesbian couple, one of my friends is more masculine and the other is more feminine. I have had someone next to me assume that, “she’s the man in the relationship, right?”. The question was rhetorical from my point of view. They are both women, even if one is more masculine than the other. They are both considered the mother through their daughter’s eyes. Having a child in a same-sex relationship is more complex to a narrow-minded person’s mind when it comes to who is what in reference to gender roles, since they are both women and most are used to seeing mommy and daddy, not mommy and mommy. In What about Gender Roles in Same-Sex Relationships?, I agree with Stephen Mays critiques on gender stereotypes, because despite how feminine or masculine someone might be or the characteristics, or responsibilities they