Myths Of Gender Roles Essay

The Myths of Gender Role According to Wikipedia, gender role is “a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable.” Gender roles tell us whether something is “right” or “wrong”. A popular example of gender role is the difference between feminine and masculine characteristic. In the United States, masculine roles are usually defined as aggressive and dominant while feminine roles are defined as sensitive and submissive. In our society, gender role has been around for so long that we accept the idea simply because we think they are right. Gender role is applied everywhere from family, mass media to peers. In many different families, each member has a certain role they’re naturally assigned to. Usually, in the United States, the men go to work while the women look after children in the house. We do not notice many advertisements portraying unequal gender roles or presenting misguided messages simply because we think they are normal. Often times, our peers might decide for us what is acceptable. If we do not follow our friend’s or a group’s guidelines, we often find ourselves ostracized. While gender roles might seem like societal stereotypes that give wrong messages out to the society, it is often what helps us to define ourselves and keep us from being …show more content…
There is not something that only men can do or only women can do. There might be activities such as lifting heavy objects that the men might be more capable of doing, but it shouldn’t be something the women should be thought of as incapable. If one gender can manage it, the other gender should be too. I think that gender roles, although majorly influenced by the society, can start to shift as individuals introduce new ideas into it. At first, it may seem like a terrible idea, but as more and more people who refuse to settle their thoughts and views on set gender roles, the society as a whole comes to accept