A Comparative Analysis Of Gender Roles And Women

The main reason gender roles came to be was because of how power was obtained in those times. War and fighting could lead to victory, victory led to prestige, and that led to power. Men usually have more muscle mass thus making them better fighters, especially without today’s resources, so they did a lot of the fighting and winning. That meant that more women just gave birth, and raised families and households. This pattern simply continued because it worked well for those societies at that time, and it has just stuck with us.
This has had a huge effect on our development as a society, and a species. Many expectations, requirements, and roles have been put on men and women that are harmful to everyone. For men, they must be “manly”, but defining “manly” is relative. A stereotypical view would be someone who is very strong, fearless, bearded, heterosexual, and only enjoys “masculine” things. This is not to say that someone who fits this description is in any way problematic, but that the expectation to do so is. And, the feeling of inadequacy that can arise when someone does not meet the criteria. Also, …show more content…
One of her friends was over, and he brought trucks to play with. She didn’t want any part in that because they were boy toys. I don’t care if she likes trucks or not, I just think her reasoning is disturbing. Many people believe that getting rid of gender stereotypes and roles means that every “boy” thing will be forced on girls, and vice versa. That is not the case (except for some scary individuals who take it too far). The gendering of things, is the problem. My sister can play with any toy appropriate for age, but she is already influenced by society’s standards. She refuses things because she is a girl and “X is not for girls”. What I’d rather her say is “I don’t like that truck, it’s boring”. I just want her to make her own decisions based on what she likes, and not based on what she is “supposed” to