The Roles Of Men And Women In Society

Improved Essays
Throughout history, society has always held certain attitudes towards men and women. These include their jobs, their behavior, and the way they should act. These attitudes can be harmful to people when they do not fit into the classic views of society, causing them emotional and mental distress. Although some changes have taken place, many traditional values towards the roles of men and women still exist in the workplace, the home, and in personal relationships.
While many workplaces are becoming more equal towards men and women, many still hold biases. Many people believe that everyone is treated equal in the workplace, however women still only make around seventy seven cents for every dollar that men make. Even when women have the same schooling
…show more content…
It is expected that when a couple decides to have children the mother will stay at home and take care of them. She is expected to cook and clean, and the father is the one to go to work, and to support the family. However, this is no longer the case for many families. An increase in the cost of living has led many families to have both parents working and sending their children to daycare. In other families, both parents work because they choose to. The women no longer feel forced to give up her career to have a family, and many women enjoy having a job and children. This has also led to an increase in stay at home dads, allowing women to continue in the work force. Women are still expected to be the ones to cook and clean, and take care of things around the house. Joanna Altschuler, author of “Meaning of Housework and Other Unpaid Responsibilities among Older Women,” explains that working women “often end up doing a second shift at home,” because they must come home to cook and clean (146). While this is still a major part of how society works, the men and children are becoming more involved in household chores. Even though these biases still exist, families are leaving the traditional roles of men and women, and doing what works best for their …show more content…
Many people have a certain set of qualities they assume that every man should have. These include being strong, having the ability to fix things, and not showing their emotions. One of the main reason males get picked on is because they are not as manly as society thinks they should be. When any situation appears, most people will look toward the men to make the decisions and find a solution. This puts a lot of pressure on men, and often times they do not know of a solution any better than women would. Because society has this image that males need to be masculine all the time, they have taken away the ability for men to display their emotions. Due to this men are keeping things to themselves and having a hard time expressing their feelings. It is seen as a weakness if men cry, but women are not judged for it. Bob Pease, author of “The Politics of Gendered Emotions,” describes that “men’s physical health is placed at risk because men are unable to recognize the emotional cues of illness and disease” (129). Because of these biases men are put at higher risk of mental disease and emotional

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Male and females will interact and think in the way society shapes both men and women. In the eyes of society, men can be approached as fierce, strong, and prideful individuals. Furthermore, women can usually be seen as sentimental, lighthearted, and caring. Men’s and women’s communication strategies are related to the issue of social and biological norms in the way an individual treats a person from a specific gender due the prior beliefs a specific individual is raised upon.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Men belong in the work field. Women belong in the kitchen and washroom. Men make all the money. Women take care of the children. Men are the rule makers.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Discussion: In the last couple of years, the roles that women play in our American society have changed. We now have to do double of the work. We are not only housekeepers, but also professionals. We are expected to go to school and earn a degree along with raising children and supporting the family.…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For the Sake of Womankind Gender roles have changed throughout the course of history, yet the struggle for true equality amongst men and women still prevails. Women continue to be viewed as the minority group, where being born a girl automatically lowers her social standard. This social standard dictates how she is respected, how she is viewed, and what opportunities she is given. Efforts have been and are made to blur the distinction between being a male or a female, but the amount of progress is not enough to say that both genders are equal. Some people may say otherwise, but as a whole, women will never be the equivalent of man in the eyes of American society.…

    • 1293 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Women’s Studies: A man’s perspective” offers a thoughtful and insightful viewpoint of the tribulations that may be encountered, and the advantages that may be acquired, as a result of participating in a women’s studies course as a male. Although Evan Weissman received support on his decision to complete a women’s studies course by several of his closest loved ones, others mocked him and questioned his confidence as a man. Many of those that insulted him lacked the ability and competence to recognize the positive outcomes a women’s studies course could provide. According to Weissman, most men are oblivious to the advantages and dominance they possess over women. Through women’s studies, Weissman was able to develop a strong sense of confidence in himself, and realize that the attainment of his goals was, in part, influenced by his gender.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    It has long been stated that the task of maintaining the home primarily fell on the woman’s shoulders, while the man focuses mainly on duties in the workplace. For some married couples, trying to get their husband to help with the housework typically led to domestic disputes. In recent years however, men have been getting more involved with parenting than ever before. A passage from (Giraffe 2011) states: “The recession of 2008 contributed to this arrangement because increased unemployment left more fathers available to care for their children and the reduced family income made outside childcare services…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    In other words, it has lead to the erosion of the cultural idea that men should be the primarily breadwinners while women should be responsible for household chores and childcare (Marshall, 2006). In fact, couple nowadays “have a much more equal partnership in the sharing of financial, child care and household responsibilities” (Marshall, 2006, Feature article webpage). According to a study (Marshall, 2011) comparing household work and paid work hours of men and women of different generations, women are increasing their share of paid work while men are increasing their share of household work. For instance, late baby boom men at ages 20 to 29 worked 1.4 hours than their women counterparts (born 1957 to 1966); for individuals of the Y generation (1981 to 1990), the difference has decreased to 1.1 hours. Conversely, late baby boom women of the same age group did 1.2 more hours of housework per day compared to their male counterparts; however, by generation Y, that difference has decreased to 0.4 hours mostly because women chose to decrease their housework chore hours.…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With men being strong, emotionally controlled, and the providers for the family, while women are nurturing, sensitive, homemakers (Levant, 2008). These roles have placed a strain on the individuals who have failed to conform to them (Robbins et al., 2012). Additionally, the roots of these socially constructed gender roles run deep and as traditional roles of men and women are changing; it is causing problems for both…

    • 1364 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    You and I both have a mother and father. However, privileged individuals have both parents living under the same roof in “love”. If you are one of these privileged individuals we can make judgement on who does the most laundry, who handles the finances, who cooks, who cleans, and the list is endless. Some of us might say “mom” and others “dad” but regardless of who does what, in a “traditional” household (Olson November 17th, 2016), there’s always one parent who does the majority of the house and child-rearing work. It becomes a “second shift” for that parent when they come home from work.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stereotypes Of Women Essay

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Women Stereotypes Women have been stereotyped as the homemaker for years. The typical nurturing, maternal ability they have encourages men to view woman as a caretaker. Cleaning, cooking, and raising the children are all thought of as “womanly jobs”. Men, as well as other women, constantly apply this stereotype to those around them. There are certain expectations that women are required to meet when it comes to this typical womanly role which pressures them to feel as if they must meet these qualifications, even if the woman does not want to.…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In America, one tends to think both women and men are paid equally, but women are paid less than men even at the exact same job. According to the article, “The Wage Gap 2014” in 2012 as full time workers, men made $854 per week while women only made $691, a gender wage ratio of 80.9 percent. The pay gap is larger than most people realize even with both a man and a woman having a college education. This has been an issue for America since 1868 and still is not resolved today. With women working the same jobs as men, it is only fair that they should be paid the same as the men working with them.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Seidman, “women’s contributions to the making of society have been ignored” (2013). Women not only obtain a day time job, but we can actually refer to their house work as a second job, because it sums the same hours as a part time job or even a full time job. In my situation even though I’m not married and still live at home, I’m expected to attend school, attend my regular employment, come home to clean and then do my homework. As I am the first child in my family to pursue an education after high school, my parents, especially my father does not understand how difficult it is to balance everything at once.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Balancing work and family is common struggle among Americans. The target of the debate lies in opposing opinions as to how to prioritize work and family. Should work come before family, or should family come first? Even more, could there be a common ground in equally balancing both? Being passionate about this issue, I began to research it further.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discrimination Against Women in the Workplace From a young age, society teaches children how to see things differently than they really are. Prejudice and discrimination are carried through lineage, and over time are passed through generations of people who hold the same ideals because of their false influences. Since the beginning of the 19th century, society has taught women that they are of lesser value in comparison to men. In the workplace, women are discriminated against because of their gender, and are lead to believe that they do not deserve what is rightfully a man’s career. The hours and wages women receive do not match what their male co-workers gain, despite them having the same job.…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Roles in Society Gender roles are very prevalent in today’s society. Gender roles are a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their actual or perceived sex or sexuality. In fact, every baby at birth, they are categorized into male or female. “Gender represents a spectrum of sociocultural roles, identities, and orientations that are distinct from one 's biological sex determined by genes, anatomy, gonads, and hormones” (as cited in Juster, Paul, Preussener, and Jens). Gender roles can affect not only how one views someone, but also how one might act towards one another.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics