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How Society Defines Gender Roles

Alexandria Gurule

Southwestern Adventist University

03/27/2018
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Gender roles define how a person should act regardless of who or where they are.

Although they do not always define who a person is exactly, they have a major impact on a

person’s limitations. A gender role is “The role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to

their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms”. Meaning that society “allows” the

actions of a person based on their gender, without thinking of their personal background or who

they are as a person. Society has been able to define what gender roles are and what each gender

can do or how they are allowed to act based on the gender they identify with.

Gender has to be redefined in order to define gender roles. “Gender, on the other hand,

refers to the meanings, values, and characteristics that people ascribe to different sexes”

(Blackstone 2003). Gender and sex are very different things and society has defined what each

gender can do based on past cultural norms gender defines how you act, and who one is as a

person. Gender has been defined as a cultural perception of each person, and gender roles are a

major part of these views.

According to Amy Blackstone (2003), gender roles are not just about what a person can

or cannot do, but about power over the people around them. Some may suggest that people who

feel powerless try to make those around them feel useless or worthless to lift themselves up.

Enforcing negative gender roles to gain power over someone is toxic and can cause serious

emotional and possible physical harm. One example that Blackstone used was a man who is the

sole breadwinner of the family. This can be dangerous because if he leaves, there will be no

support for his partner who financially relies on his income (Blackstone 2003). These

relationships can be dangerous if a woman does not know how to take care of herself and her

family financially. This does not mean that women should not stay home and be the caretaker of
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their home, but it rather that they should know that they are not limited to this lifestyle if they

choose.

Gender stereotyping and roles are not always placed by the opposite gender. Studies have

shown than men and women believe gender stereotypes about their own gender more than they

do about the other gender (Sage, 2016). Many times, both men and women place these

stereotypes on themselves based on what society around them has conditioned them to do. When

people limit themselves to their gender roles, they then limit their potential without considering

what they are capable of. it takes the effort of individuals to realize they do not need to be

defined by what society says. Individuals taking a step and stopping the typical gender roles to

be enforced can change society as a whole.

There are many common gender roles for both men and women that are stereotypical and

at times demeaning. For example, women are viewed as soft, and in need of a hero. Many

women cannot have major accomplishments in life without society basing her life around a man.

Even if she is more successful than the man she is with, she may be labeled as her partner’s

accomplishments. Women are also expected to raise the children and stay home with them.

Although it is important that mothers are connected to their children and be an important part in

raising their children, it should not be placed solely on the mother to stay at home and raise their

children. Fathers should also have a major responsibility in raising their children and staying at

home taking on responsibilities that are normally placed on the mother.

According to Danielle Kurtzleben from the National Public Radio (2018), since the 2016

presidential election, the number of women running for Congress and other elected positions

have doubled. This means that women are beginning to have more freedom to speak out and run

for public office. This is breaking a gender role that women should not speak out and that politics
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are meant for men. Women are able to run for office because they can see examples of women

running and being successful in office. Throughout history, men have typically been the ones in

charge when it comes to households, businesses, and politics. But with the dynamic of families

changing, and companies progressing, this stereotype has begun to change.

Men are not immune to these gender roles that society has placed on women. There are

many negative gender roles for men that limit their actions. For example, they are expected to go

to work and provide for their family. In some situations, like a gay couple, or when their wife is

the sole breadwinner of the family, a man is the ones who stays at home and care for their house

and stay at home with the children. Another example is that men are seen as weak if they show

emotion. All are human, and as humans, we show emotions. It is not only women who have

emotions and are able to express them. Men should be encouraged to deal with their emotions in

a healthy way just as women do.

Body image is an issue that affects both men and women. This can be a lifelong struggle

that many people with and many companies and media play a key role in this. Clothing and

beauty companies try to create campaigns to encourage a healthy lifestyle such as “Campaign for

Real Beauty” to encourage healthy body images in women and girls (Cox, 2014). Campaigns

could benefit many women, however, not all beauty companies are taking part of these. In fact,

some companies are the reasons for influencing negative views of their own bodies and minds.

Men are also affected by the body standards that are at times impossible to live up to. The

“strong man” image that are portrayed in movies, TV shows and magazines are what women are

conditioned to want, and men ae conditioned to be.

In a relationship, each person has a role, whether it is to be a controlling part that makes

all the major decisions to submissive and allowing another to control every choice. Many people
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feel that it is a man’s job to provide for their family and it is the woman’s responsibility to raise

the children and care for the home. However, these roles are changing just as society is changing.

Although people may be progressing faster than the society around them, the change is clear.

The responsibility to raise children, or earn the income does not have to be placed on the

shoulders of one individual. Gender roles allow one to take on the full responsibility of

something due to the fact that society would look down on another gender for doing the same

thing.

All suffer from the very real consequences of negative gender roles. Children especially

are shown that they are limited to their gender instead of who they want to be. Adults influence

the way children see themselves. Their self-identity and self-perception has a lot to do with the

environment around them and the way adults view themselves. For example, a young daughter

may see that their mother uses makeup and relies of the beatify standards that society has put out

and believe that they also need to comply to these standards.

Children are shaped from birth to follow a strict role based on their gender. Children are

told to play with certain toys, or to behave a certain way to fit into the society around them.

Commercials and toy stores shape their advertisements around a certain gender that a toy fits.

Although toys can be universal, many people view baby dolls and Barbies are for girls and sports

equipment and action figures are boys. Parents condition their children to follow gender roles for

their actions and decisions. Family has an impact on how their children view themselves.

Children see the way their parent(s) act and how their gender influences their roles. Children are

not immune to the gender roles placed on them at a very young age. Family has a major impact

on how their children see themselves.

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“Gender roles are based on the different expectations that individuals, groups, and

societies have of individuals based on their sex and based on each society's values and beliefs

about gender” (Blackstone 2003). These roles may change throughout cultures but they are

present in everywhere. These expectations may good negative or positive, but they reduce a

person to their gender role instead of the person’s character. Gender roles may show people that

they are allowed to treat people a certain way simply because of their sex. This also reduces a

person and may affect their self-perception. Self-perception is how one views themselves and

this can be either negative or positive.

Cultural gender roles are based around family background, culture and religions. Based

on how people were raised defines how they allow cultural gender roles to define them.

However, in America, gender norms have changed as times have changed. Woman have more

rights now, and may been seen as a person that can take a position of powder instead of just a

housewife (Lockwood, 2016). In some cultures, men are more encouraged to show their

emotions without being ridiculed or thought of as weak. As data has shown, many people are

now believing these gender stereotypes about themselves rather than the people around them

(Sage, 2016). Sage also argues that women and men are realizing that they are not as different as

previously thought, which then changes why people set gender stereotypes (2016).

In the past, Freud has suggested that the person you are is defined by the gender you

have. Women and men are driven by their true desires in life and are seen as such desires and

traits that go along side. However, in today’s society, many people believe that the gender you

have should not define these things (Weingartin 2015). In the context of sexuality, there are

many cultural norms that are shifting from each gender. Women are more empowered to

embrace their sexuality than they were 50 years ago.

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Gender roles define the way people see each other and their abilities in life. Men and

women are seen in certain ways such as too emotional for a job, or out of touch with a situation.

Not offering someone a job solely based on their gender is discrimination and is a serious matter

in the workforce (Wolfe, 2017). However, many companies get away with this by offering high

positions, more responsibility, or the wage gap. Many women get paid less than a man in the

same position.

There may be some positive changes to the normal gender roles we see today. There are

many people who are pushing the stereotypes aside and allowing themselves to truly be who they

want to be and not what society limits them to. This does not mean that those gender roles placed

on them by society do not exist, but it means that people do not have to follow what the culture

around them tell them. Roles in movies is an example of the changes that are changing from

what gender norms are currently. Women are play major roles as heroes and action stars without

the need of a man to “save” them or to be the major lead. Men are encouraged to embrace their

emotions without facing ridicule.

Although people may not always follow suit, society shapes gender roles. By society

being able to control how people act, companies are able to target audiences by being able to sell

things to continue this streak of gender norms. Advertisers have a big contribution into the

deciding factors of gender roles. Target based advertising can push for males to buy a certain

brand of cologne to be manlier, and females to buy makeup created to push them to meet a

standard of beauty. As previously stated, many people view genders a certain way based on their

actions. Advertisers have been able to manipulate the perception of a gender based solely on

what their wear, how they act and why types of things or people they are in to. Movies,
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television shows and music play an influence in what a normal relationship looks like or how a

person is supposed to present themselves.

There have been change throughout history that has redefined some gender roles and

stereotypes, but there will always been a negative and positive side to these roles. Many people

do not realize how much influence society has on people’s lives. Gender roles are defined by a

person’s actions and beliefs based on that person’s gender. These beliefs may be about another

gender or about themselves. People can let limitations on themselves based on the world around

them effect their way of life. Many people are defined by these limits and allow themselves to

not reach their full potential based on the stereotypes placed on them. However, there are

constant changes to the way people are reacting to set stereotypes and how they see the world

around them. In order to shake up the gender stereotypes in a society, there must be change

individually. Acceptable behavior for each gender is not if it is legal or inappropriate, but

acceptable to the jobs a person should have, how much they are paid, or what role they have in

their household.

Throughout our lives, society has taught us to follow roles to be successful as a male or

female. If one were to step out of line, some may see them as an abnormality that disrupt

society’s way of life. Although there have been many changes to gender stereotypes and roles,

but they may not be positive changes. Although women have more rights than they did many

decades ago, the fact that men are still seen as the superior gender. Women are still viewed as in

need of a hero, and without a man or husband, they are not as valued. Men are seen as

emotionless and power hungry which can also have negative effects. All stereotypes are an

oversimplified version of who a person is (Cox, 2014). This unfair view of who people are is a
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problem in every society because it allows people to be put into categories instead of being a

unique individual.

It is important to no place blame in negative gender roles on men and men alone.

According to Wolfe, all play a role in enforcing these gender roles, by either enforcing roles in

other’s lives, or believing the roles set for their gender (2017). The attitude of people towards

gender roles is accepting, which is a contributing to the fact that society controls these roles. The

resistance and refusal to change as a whole is a reason why gender roles continue to rule over all

lives. When women allow these roles to control them, they are allowing these negative roles to

control and prove the point that women are powerless and easy to control (Wolfe, 2017).

In some countries, it is not always possible to be able to stand against gender roles. Some

women are punished by law if they try to defy these roles. Wolfe claims that extreme patriarchy

strips women of their rights and dignity (2017). This means that the power that men have in

some countries is so strong, women are physically and verbally punished if they go against what

men have placed as the guidelines to live in. In the United States, women do not have to worry

about speaking up for themselves out of fear of death, but in more conservative and traditional

countries, a women’s place is set in stone and cannot change. Ignorance and tradition have major

roles in these gender roles and are almost impossible to change. These dangers of trying to create

change are very real and very serious for some women.

Although not all countries can encourage people to change gender roles and their

stereotypes, many counties can encourage change. Millennials argue that gender should not

define the way we act (Weingartin, 2015). If one generation starts a change, the generations to

follow are able to continue this pattern of change for the better. Categorizing genders is not

possible due to the fact that there are more than two genders, and it is impossible to define
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without using a gender stereotype or role. Each gender has a different meaning based on one’s

culture and world views.

Gender roles effect all lives, and none are immune to the effects of stereotyping based on

gender. Men and women are constantly defined by the ways society allows them to act. Some try

to change the stereotypes, but not all are able to. These negative effects can change the way

people view themselves, whether it’s body image or self-perception. Roles cannot be erased

completely, however, they can change to a more positive and less limiting definition.
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Works Cited

Amy M Blackstone, (2003, August) Gender Roles and Society, Retrieved from

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.goo

gle.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=soc_facpub

Basow, S. A. (1992). Gender: Stereotypes and roles, 3rd ed. Belmont, CA, US: Thomson

Brooks/Cole Publishing Co

Brewer, H, N.D., HealthGuidance, List of Gender Stereotypes, Retrieved from

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15910/1/List-of-Gender-Stereotypes.html

Lockwood, M. B. (2016, August 22), The Odessey, Gender Roles in American Society: An

Observation, Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/gender-roles-in-

american-society-an-observation

Luscombe, B. (2017, September 20), Time Magazine, Kids Believe Gender Stereotypes by Age

10, Global Study Finds, Retrieved from http://time.com/4948607/gender-stereotypes-

roles/

M’Liss DeWald, (2014,August 4), Gender Roles Affect Everyone: New Blog Series, Retrieved

from https://nccj.org/blog/gender-roles-affect-everyone-new-blog-series

Planned Parenthood, (2018), Planned Parenthood, Gender and Gender Identity, Retrieved from

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender/gender-gender-

identity
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Sage, (2016, March 9), PHYS.Org, How have gender stereotypes changed in the last 30 years?,

Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2016-03-gender-stereotypes-years.html

Weingartin, E. (2015, January 20), Time Magazine, How To Shake Up Gender Norms, Retrieved

from http://time.com/3672297/future-gender-norms/

Wolfe, L. (2017, November 13), The Balance, Learn About Gender Discrimination in Society,

Retrieved from https://www.thebalance.com/sex-vs-gender-the-role-society-plays-in-

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