Rigid Gender Roles

People can live without Perpetuating Rigid Gender Roles

The society has set expectations to its members for it to function well. Each member has particular tasks and obligations that they need to accomplish to have a well-organized community. These expectations to its members, basically males and females, are the ones that are called gender roles. Beal, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, defined gender roles as “the behaviors that are expected of males and females within a particular society, including dress and appearance, work and leisure activities, obligations within the family, skills, and social behavior” (4). Mainly, gender roles talk about the concept of femininity and masculinity. In this society,

In a three-month long study done by Dr. Maria do Mar Pereira, a researcher from the University of Warwick, it is concluded that strictly implementing gender roles to children is actually harmful to their health (Culp-Ressler, para. 1, 7). Because of the need to meet the expectations of the society, men become anxious about proving themselves as masculine. Men are often involved in fights and dangerous activities because it portrays a very manly image. Robert Brannon states that there are four elements in the masculine roles (Lips 242). The first one is “the avoidance of femininity” wherein men must not do things which have a feminine touch. Most men are short-haired because long hair is usually associated with women. The others are “the need to be superior to others” and “the need to be more powerful than others.” Men have acquired the idea that they are better than women. Because of their physical attributes, men are considered to be stronger than women. The last element is “the need to be self-reliant and independent” wherein men believe that they can manage things on their own. Men think that being weak and dependent is not masculine (Lips 242, 243). In addition, Verser, in his work “Strokes and Strokes: Men and Competition” mentioned that masculine roles teach boys to become competitive resulting to “emotional alienation”

It is possible to make a change since gender roles, according to some researchers, are just socially constructed. These roles may vary through time, place and culture, which is why they are adjustable.

Conflict theory, by Karl Marx, assumes a society wherein the members struggle for power and dominance (Lindsey 6). This power and dominance can be seen through master-slave relationships as well as leader-follower relationship. For instance, female secretaries are usually seen and being a maid is a typical job for women. In politics, leaders are usually male and there are only few females who are politician. These power and dominance create an oversimplified idea that “men have an economic advantage over women” (Lindsey 7) which causes an unequal treatment for males and